Briefing on the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor

Briefing on the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises 18 February 2009 - Top Secret -

PBMR Presentation Contents • Original Offering • Challenges with the Original Offering • Current Environment • Applications for Process Heat • Revised Approach • Considerations for the Revised Approach • DPP value add that will be taken forward • Way Forward - Top Secret -

PBMR: Original Offering • PBMR envisaged that its High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) could be utilised in various applications and intended pursuing the following markets: • Electricity generation, • Industrial process heat, and • Desalination and Cogeneration • PBMR to design and build a High Temperature Reactor (HTR) with a closed-cycle, gas turbine power conversion system. • Medium Term Activities/Objectives: • Design, license, construct and commission a Demonstration Power Plant (DPP) at Koeberg with Eskom as the client, • Design, license, construct and commission the PBMR Fuel Plant (PFP) at Pelindaba with its partner, Necsa, and • Develop the process heat market - Top Secret -

PBMR: Challenges with the Original Offering • Eskom as the anchor customer for the Demonstration Power Plant (DPP) and the first 24 units is not viable in the short to medium term due to its massive conventional build programme which needs funding, putting its balance sheet under severe pressure. • Inherent higher levels of risk associated with the delivery of a First of a Kind Project as well as the licensing challenges. • The construction of a demonstration power plant based on a closed cycle gas turbine power conversion system (brayton cycle), involves a significant amount of first of a kind engineering. • The project contains research elements such as the brayton cycle, whilst other parts are known technologies. This has resulted in elements of the project that should have been funded research being treated as part of a commercial product offering. - Top Secret -

PBMR: Current Environment • Evidence that the PBMR market for process heat is significant. • Interest has been expressed by many parties, including the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) programme in the United States and the Oil Sands Industry in Canada for a plant capable of producing steam and electricity. • Eskom may still be a customer for PBMR electricity on condition that it is a significantly de-risked project using known technology. This would be achieved by adopting a Standard Nuclear Island approach where much more known technology is used. • The adoption of a Standard Nuclear Island (SNI) approach for process heat has the advantage that it could be usable for the brayton cycle with some development. There is the benefit of immediately enabling steam and electricity generation on known technologies. The drawback is that it is a lower temperature reactor than the original, but it would still benefit from a higher temperature that any of the other conventional reactors in the market. • The SNI approach de-risks the project and has the effect of reducing costs. The Chinese are pursuing this direction as well. - Top Secret -

PBMR: Applications for Process Heat • Steam Generation • Heavy Oil Recovery • Oil Sands • Cogeneration • Steam Methane Reforming • Hydrogen • Ammonia • Methanol • Water-Splitting (H2 & O2) • Bulk Hydrogen • Coal-to-liquids • Coal-to-methane • Desalination The Process Heat Market seems to have many more opportunities for PBMR than Power Generation - Top Secret -

PBMR: Revised Approach • The development of a product to service both the electricity and process heat markets. • Modifying the Demonstration Power Plant design to allow for either electricity generation or process heat provision. • De-risk the project by utilising a Standard Nuclear Island, thereby reducing the technology and licensing risk associated with a first of a kind project. • Exploration of additional potential customers in the process heat market (e.g. Canadian Oil Sands Companies, Sasol and participation in the US NGNP programme) • Revision of the business model for a sustainable commercial enterprise rather than a funded research project. - Top Secret -

PBMR: Considerations for the Revised Approach • Safety • Ability to License • Economics • Cost, Availability, Constructability (modularization, transportability) • Technical risk • Time to market • Market potential • Customer requirements • Maintainability, Flexibility, Operability, Reliability • Given a safe plant, cost and risk are the major issues to be addressed - Top Secret -

PBMR: DPP value add that will be taken forward • Fuel • Reactor systems (Fuel Handling System, Core Outlet Connection, etc) • Technology applicable to future designs include the turbo machine design (Brayton Cycle, Combined Cycle, CO2) and control systems • Hard assets/Materials/Prototype components • Test facilities, test results • Simulator • Design Codes and Methods • Codes and Standards • Licensing Process and the Safety Analysis Report • Supply Chain/Suppliers/Procurement Processes • Environmental Impact Assessment • Skills Development • Cooperative research networks / relationships - Top Secret -

PBMR: Way Forward • The new approach to service both the electricity and process heat markets with a single offering holds merit. • Technology and licensing risk can be significantly reduced if a standard nuclear island approach is taken to de-risk the project and minimise first of a kind engineering by using known technology. • Pebble Fuel is where South Africa will retain the most intellectual capital and a strategic advantage globally. • Industrialisation benefits will still accrue through the supply of certain componentry on a global basis (e.g. Fuel Handling is a possibility) • On this revised business model approved by the PBMR board, a revised partnership strategy for PBMR will be consolidated. • The company is currently in the process of preparing a revised business plan for presentation to the shareholder. - Top Secret -

THE END - Top Secret -

Briefing on the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor