Projects / prj-pbmr-koeberg
PBMR demonstration power plant at Koeberg (terminated)
Eskom and PBMR (Pty) Ltd planned a Pebble Bed Modular Reactor demonstration plant at the Koeberg site; its environmental decision was challenged in 2007. South Africa reports that PBMR licensing was terminated in 2010 when the licensing application was withdrawn. Output is not stored. Distinct from the 2026 Necsa demonstration at Pelindaba.
- Stage
- Cancelled
- Design
- PBMR (Pebble Bed Modular Reactor) (SMR)
- Technology
- High-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) · helium
- Operator(s)
- Eskom
- Vendor(s)
- PBMR (Pty) Ltd
- Location
- Koeberg nuclear station site (PBMR) · South Africa · precision: approximate
Coordinates of the Koeberg station from the NuclearChain reactors export (CC BY 4.0), whose unit points derive from GEM's Global Nuclear Power Tracker; site-area point for a project never built. - Coordinates
- -33.6746, 18.4321
- Electrical capacity
- — · scope: plant
- Thermal capacity
- —
- Modules planned
- —
- Inclusion basis
- smr_by_design_class
- Confidence
- medium
- Last verified
- 2026-10-02 (publication/verification date)
Milestones & dated events
- No dated milestones recorded yet.
Regulatory actions
- None recorded in this release.
Sources
- South Africa national report, 7th CNS review meeting (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-02)
- NEI: South Africa revives PBMR project (reputable_press, accessed 2026-10-02)
- WNN: Appeals rejected against PBMR fuel plant (reputable_press, accessed 2026-10-02)