The Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE), together with Eskom, will host the South African Nuclear and Clean Energy Conference next week.
The conference will be held under the theme: “Transitioning from Policy to Execution: Powering a Secure, Sustainable and Industrialised Future”.
“The joint event brings together the DEE Nuclear Conference and the 4th Eskom Clean Energy Conference on a single platform, while retaining the distinctive focus and objectives of both conferences.
“[It] will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, international experts, and key stakeholders to advance discussions on translating South Africa’s energy policies and plans into coordinated implementation in support of a secure, sustainable and Industrialised energy future,” the department said.
Taking place in Gauteng on 10 and 11 November 2026, the gathering will focus on the country’s nuclear energy programme and the policy, regulatory, financing, technology, partnerships, industrialisation and skills considerations required to support its development.
“Discussions will also consider emerging nuclear technologies, including Small Modular Reactors [SMR], and opportunities to strengthen Africa’s nuclear development agenda.
“The 4th Eskom Clean Energy Conference will use the Integrated Resource Plan [IRP] 2025 as its content anchor, with discussions covering generation emissions reduction, emerging energy technologies, grid development and regional interconnection, affordability, private-sector participation and the evolution of the electricity market,” the DEE stated.
Furthermore, the two conferences provide a platform for government and stakeholders to have discussions on “investment, infrastructure, technology and industrialisation requirements of South Africa’s evolving electricity system, while strengthening collaboration across the nuclear and clean-energy value chains”.
The joint conference also builds on the contribution of the 2025 Nuclear and Clean Energy conferences to South Africa’s G20 energy engagements.
“The 2025 Nuclear Conference was convened at ministerial level in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), [with] the Coal to Nuclear study forming part of the discussions on South Africa’s longer-term energy transition and the potential future role of technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR).
“The 2026 conference will take this dialogue forward by bringing nuclear and clean-energy stakeholders together to consider the practical steps required to move from policy towards implementation,” the department said.
. – SAnews.gov.za
