United States Launches Small Modular Reactor Control Room Simulator in Ghana

The United States is supporting the Development of Advanced Civil Nuclear Workforce in Ghana through the recent launch of the Small Modular Reactor Control Room Simulator.

Virginia Palmer, the United States Ambassador to Ghana, joined the Chief Director of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology in Ghana, Dr. Patrick Nomo, in the launching event.

Also present there were representatives from the Nuclear Power Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), and guests from across Ghana’s academic, energy, and government sectors.

They all gathered to officially launch the first NuScale Power Energy Exploration (E2) Center in Sub-Saharan Africa at the Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences in Accra. 

The Energy Exploration Center uses state-of-the-art computer modeling within a NuScale 12-module small modular reactor (SMR) control room and will deliver hands-on education and training for the next generation of African nuclear professionals to operate safe and secure advanced civil nuclear reactors.

E2 Center Supported by the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) capacity building program in partnership with the International Science and Technology Center and NuScale Power.
The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Senior Bureau Official Ann Ganzer announced the E2 Center, envisioned as part of a SMR Regional Training Hub and Center of Excellence, at the FIRST Africa Regional Conference held in Accra in 2023. 

In addition to the E2 simulator, the SMR Regional Training Hub includes the establishment of a nuclear welding certification program, academic exchanges with Texas A&M University, and other university partnerships for joint development of SMR-relevant curricula.

This Ghana and United States first partnership began in 2022 and builds on the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation signed in 2021, which improves our cooperation on nuclear energy and strengthens our long-standing diplomatic and economic relationship.

The United States is dedicated to supporting the use of safe, secure, and peaceful nuclear technology to advance energy access and energy security in Ghana, across the African continent, and worldwide.