The U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia E. Palmer, together with the Chief Director of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Rev. Dr. Patrick Nomo, and representatives from the Nuclear Power Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), inaugurated the first NuScale Power Energy Exploration (E2) Center in Sub-Saharan Africa. The launch event took place at the Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences in Accra.
The E2 Center is equipped with advanced computer modeling within a NuScale 12-module small modular reactor (SMR) control room. It aims to provide practical education and training for future African nuclear professionals to manage advanced civil nuclear reactors safely.
This initiative is supported by the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) capacity building program, in collaboration with the International Science and Technology Center and NuScale Power. Ann Ganzer, Senior Bureau Official at the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, introduced the E2 Center as part of a broader SMR Regional Training Hub and Center of Excellence during the FIRST Africa Regional Conference held in Accra in 2023.
Beyond the simulator, this regional hub will offer a nuclear welding certification program and facilitate academic exchanges with Texas A&M University alongside other university partnerships for developing curricula relevant to SMRs.
The U.S.-Ghana FIRST partnership commenced in 2022 following a Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation signed in 2021. This agreement enhances collaboration on nuclear energy while reinforcing diplomatic and economic ties between both nations.
The United States remains committed to promoting safe, secure, and peaceful nuclear technology to enhance energy access and security in Ghana, throughout Africa, and globally.
