Uganda and Russia Advance Nakasongola NPP Planning with New Intergovernmental Agreement

Agreement Signed at Moscow Summit

Uganda and Russia have formalised a new step in their nuclear cooperation, with an intergovernmental agreement signed on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow. The document was signed by Nikolai Spassky, Rosatom Deputy Director General and Director of International Activities, and Irene Batebe, Permanent Secretary of Uganda's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The agreement provides for the creation of a dedicated working group tasked with studying the current state of Uganda's national nuclear infrastructure. Its stated aim is to identify joint steps leading to the negotiation of a contract for engineering surveys to select a site for the planned Nakasongola Nuclear Power Plant.

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev noted that the work would be accompanied by training of national personnel and development of the competencies required for Uganda to advance its own nuclear programme.

Site Selection and Programme Scope

Uganda's nuclear planning has been under development for over a decade. The country's Atomic Energy Bill came into effect in 2008, and the Uganda Vision 2040 roadmap, launched in April 2013, incorporates nuclear power as part of the future national energy mix.

Eight potential sites were identified across the Buyende, Nakasongola, Kassanda, Kiruhura, and Lamwo Districts and subsequently ranked against defined criteria. The proposed site for the first nuclear power plant is in Kasaato Village, Kidera Subcounty, Buyende District, with alternative sites in Nakasongola and Kiruhura Districts.

According to the World Nuclear Association's 2026 World Nuclear Output Report, Uganda's full nuclear roadmap encompasses four plant locations: Buyende (six reactors of 1,400 MWe), Nakasongola (six reactors of 1,200 MWe), Kiruhura (four reactors of 1,200 MWe), and Lamwo (four reactors of 1,000 MWe). Buyende is designated as the first project.

Dual-Partner Development and Recent Procurement

In August 2023, President Museveni announced that Russia and South Korea had been selected to build two nuclear power plants in Uganda, with a combined stated capacity of 15 GWe and a longer-term goal of 24 GW of nuclear capacity by 2040.

Reflecting the South Korean involvement, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was contracted by Uganda's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to carry out a site evaluation at the proposed Buyende location. That contract represents a concrete procurement milestone ahead of the broader engineering survey phase now being pursued with Russia for the Nakasongola site.

The new Rosatom agreement moves the Nakasongola project toward a comparable stage, with the joint working group expected to define the pathway to formal engineering survey contracting.

From reactor design to manufacturing: NuScale Power and Doosan Enerbility take another step towards SMR deployment.

From reactor design to manufacturing: NuScale Power and Doosan Enerbility take another step towards SMR deployment. 🇺🇸🇰🇷

NuScale Power has signed a contract with South Korea's Doosan Enerbility to manufacture the Upper Reactor Coolant System for the NuScale Power Module.

Production will take place at Doosan's nuclear manufacturing facility in Changwon, South Korea.

The agreement marks an important step in a partnership that began in 2019, moving from manufacturing preparation and materials production to fabrication of the first reactor component of its kind under the programme.

Why does this matter for the nuclear supply chain?
SMRs are designed to benefit from factory manufacturing and repeatable production processes. But achieving that requires much more than a certified reactor design.

It requires qualified manufacturers, established production processes, specialised materials and a supply chain capable of delivering nuclear-grade components consistently.

The NuScale–Doosan partnership illustrates how much industrial preparation is needed before SMR technologies can be deployed at scale.

The next phase of nuclear innovation is not only about reactor technology. It's also about manufacturing capability.

At NucFinder, we're working to connect nuclear buyers with the suppliers and industrial expertise needed to support this transition.

Source: https://lnkd.in/eVeb-R3m

Proxima Fusion and Kyoto Fusioneering Sign MOU to Advance Fusion Supply Chain in Germany

Stellarator developer Proxima Fusion and fusion technology provider Kyoto Fusioneering have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deepen cooperation on critical technologies required to build and operate commercial fusion power plants. The agreement was signed in Tokyo during a visit by Germany's Chancellor Merz to Japan.

Scope of Collaboration

Under the MOU, the two companies will expand ongoing joint work in two principal areas: next-generation gyrotrons for plasma heating, and fusion fuel cycle technologies. Both are considered essential engineering disciplines for any commercially viable fusion power plant.

Kyoto Fusioneering will additionally bring its technologies and engineering expertise to bear on the commercialization and industrial deployment of fusion energy in Germany. This includes participation in the national Fusion Hubs initiative, a programme overseen by Germany's Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).

Supply Chain and Industrial Rationale

The agreement is explicitly framed around strengthening the industrial supply chain underpinning Germany's ambitions in fusion energy. According to the companies, it combines Japan's established expertise in fusion engineering with Germany's stellarator research capabilities and industrial base.

The partnership reflects a broader trend of bilateral industrial agreements as governments and private developers seek to translate fusion science into firm, dispatchable, and clean energy generation.

Proxima Fusion Roadmap

The MOU is intended to support Proxima Fusion's published development milestones. The company is targeting Alpha, a demonstration stellarator, for the early 2030s, followed by Stellaris, its first commercial fusion power plant, which it expects to be ready before 2040.

Kyoto Fusioneering, headquartered in Japan, has positioned itself as a technology and engineering partner across multiple international fusion programmes. Its involvement in the German Fusion Hubs initiative marks a concrete step toward cross-border industrial integration in the fusion sector.