Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR)

Construction of a demonstration power plant, of the pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) project. A nuclear initiative by State-owned power utility Eskom, to be constructed at Koeberg in the Western Cape. The reactor consists of a vertical steel pressure vessel lined with graphite bricks. It uses silicon carbide coated particles of enriched uranium oxide encased in graphite to form a fuel sphere or pebble. Project value: R20-billion, including contingency and commercialization costs.