By Dr. Mohamed H’Midouche, DBA
Energy becomes a weapon of power again. The agreement announced on March 19, 2026, in Washington between the United States and Japan, mobilizing up to $40 billion for the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), is the most recent illustration of this. Beyond this announcement, a central question now confronts African decision-makers: can Africa build a sustainable energy and industrial sovereignty without integrating controllable, secure, and financeable energy, in addition to renewables and hydrogen? The answer to this question goes beyond the energy field alone. It involves the continent’s position in the industrial value chains of the 21st century.
A rediscovered instrument of power
The global energy landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. SMRs are no longer a marginal innovation but a structuring lever of power. Behind their development lies a strategic competition where major powers seek to structure complete value chains, ranging from technology to financing, through operation, maintenance, and training. In this context, Africa can no longer be just a deployment space. It is faced with a decisive choice: to participate in this reorganization or to bear its consequences. The question is not only about energy. It is industrial, geopolitical, and sovereign.
Towards an integrated energy system
The African debate has long opposed renewable energies to nuclear power. This reading is now outdated. Efficient energy systems today rely on smart integration of multiple sources. Renewable energies offer undeniable abundance, but their intermittency limits their ability to support sustainable industrialization alone. SMRs bring controllable energy, capable of stabilizing networks and powering industrial activities. Finally, hydrogen allows the storage of energy and its conversion into an industrial vector, opening the way to new value chains. It is within this complementarity that energy sovereignty is built. This systemic approach to energy issues is not new. It extends analyses previously formulated in our earlier work, notably in an interview given to DIFA – Defense Infos Financial Afrik (number 08, October 2024), where we emphasized that Small Modular Reactors can not be an alternative to renewable energies, but rather a structuring complement in an integrated approach to the African energy mix.
An industrial imperative: overcoming the African energy deficit
The African challenge remains massive. Over 600 million Africans still lack access to reliable electricity, even as the continent’s energy demand is expected to double by 2040. In these conditions, the goal is not only to expand access to electricity but to build energy systems capable of supporting industrialization, local resource transformation, and the development of critical infrastructure. Without a stable energy base, African ambitions in refining, metallurgy, agro-industrial processing, data centers, desalination of seawater, or green hydrogen production will remain fragile. Energy is therefore less a sector than a condition for the structural transformation of the continent.
IAEA, pillar of credibility and support
In this dynamic, the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is central. Beyond its normative mission, it supports states in structuring their civil nuclear programs by strengthening regulatory frameworks, developing skills, and ensuring compliance with international standards of safety, physical security, and non-proliferation. For African countries, this support is a determining factor of credibility, both vis-a-vis investors and technological partners. It is also essential for preparing human capital, auditing infrastructure, defining regulatory requirements, and sequencing the steps of a possible SMR program with method and caution.
Nuclear security: a governance requirement in risky environments
The issue of SMR security cannot be underestimated, especially in contexts where security risks remain high. While technological advances have strengthened intrinsic safety measures, the credibility of programs primarily relies on governance quality. In several regions of the continent, challenges also involve security environment factors: political instability, presence of armed groups, vulnerability of critical infrastructure, or risks of sabotage. These factors require increased vigilance in the design, location, protection, and operation of installations. However, this trajectory is still conditioned by the states’ ability to avoid a double risk: that of energy over-indebtedness and that of prolonged technological dependence. The security of SMRs, in Africa more than elsewhere, is not just an engineering issue. It is a condition of stability, credibility, and sovereignty.
Financing: towards structured and geopolitical models
The financing of SMRs is one of the main challenges to their deployment. Initial costs, generally estimated between $4,000 and $10,000 per installed kilowatt, remain significant, even though modularity allows for progressive investments, better suited to budgetary capacities and the gradual growth of demand. The agreement announced in Washington in March 2026 between the United States and Japan provides a clear illustration of this. Behind the commitment of $40 billion lies a structured model combining public financing, state guarantees, industrial capabilities, and the involvement of private actors, notably through groups like GE Vernova and Hitachi. This type of arrangement reflects a major evolution: the financing of SMRs becomes an instrument of industrial policy and geopolitical influence. The question of risk coverage by insurance also constitutes a determining element. Given the specific nature of nuclear risk, private markets alone cannot bear the responsibility. SMR projects rely on hybrid mechanisms combining specialized insurance, sovereign guarantees, and international risk-sharing devices. For Africa, the challenge is not only to finance reactors. It is about negotiating balanced arrangements, including technology transfer, local training, participation of national companies, safety guarantees, and visibility on capital costs.
Diverse African trajectories, but convergent
At the continental level, several countries are advancing in their nuclear programs. South Africa relies on its historical experience. Egypt is developing a structured program with international partners. Rwanda, Ghana, and Kenya are making progress in establishing suitable institutional frameworks, often with the support of the IAEA. These trajectories are neither uniform nor interchangeable. But they reflect a growing awareness: energy is no longer just about access. It becomes a central lever for economic transformation, industrial competitiveness, and strategic repositioning.
Morocco: a laboratory of integrated energy sovereignty
In this landscape, Morocco stands out for its structured and forward-thinking approach. The Kingdom has established a credible institutional framework with the AMSSNuR, the Moroccan Agency for Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security, responsible for regulation and control, as well as with the CNESTEN, the National Center of Energy, Sciences, and Nuclear Techniques, a strategic hub for research, training, and expertise.
Beneath these foundations, Morocco has major strategic advantages. Phosphates, holding the world’s largest reserves, contain extractable uranium. The mining potential of Mount Tropic, in the enlarged Atlantic space, could also contain critical minerals essential for the energy technologies of tomorrow. Combined with an ambitious strategy in renewables, natural gas, and green hydrogen, these elements pave the way for an integrated positioning from resources to industrial transformation. Beyond the Moroccan case, the lesson is clear: energy sovereignty lies in the integration of resources, technologies, skills, and industrial strategies.
South-South cooperation: towards collective sovereignty
The African energy transition cannot be built solely through traditional partnerships. South-South cooperation is a strategically underutilized lever. Sharing experiences, pooling skills, networking regulators, joint engineering training, and developing regional projects can help structure a collective approach. African institutions, notably development banks, regional energy pools, and centers of excellence, have a crucial role to play. African energy sovereignty can only be collective. In a world marked by alliances reconfiguration, market fragmentation, and competition on strategic technologies, continental integration becomes imperative.
Conclusion: a historical responsibility
The question posed at the beginning was clear: can Africa build energy and industrial sovereignty without integrating SMRs into a broader architecture including renewables and hydrogen? The answer is clear: it cannot fully. But beyond this answer, a historical responsibility emerges. It is not just about adopting a technology but defining a trajectory that allows the continent to become a player in energy value chains, rather than just a receptacle of solutions designed elsewhere. Because in the 21st century, true sovereignty will not be measured by the energy consumed but by the energy mastered, transformed, and exported.
References
– Reuters (2026), Japan, US announce energy projects, critical minerals action plan, March 19. – Bloomberg (2026), Trump, Takaichi Unveil $40 Billion US Nuclear Power Project, March 19. – Nikkei Asia (2026), coverage of the US-Japan energy partnership and nuclear investments, March. – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), publications on civil nuclear programs and SMRs. – World Bank, data on electricity access in Africa. – H’Midouche, M. (2024), interview in DIFA – Defense Infos Financial Afrik, number 08, October.
About the author
Dr. Mohamed H’Midouche, DBA, is the CEO of Inter-Africa Capital Group and a former international civil servant. He is an expert in development finance and energy strategies in Africa.
