Lesedi’s Nuclear Executive, Dr. Derik Wolvaardt, will offer industry stakeholders a forward-looking perspective during his highly anticipated panel discussion at the Africa Energy Indaba’s Nuclear Forum.
Drawing on more than three decades of nuclear-sector experience, Dr. Wolvaardt will reflect on Lesedi’s evolution from engineering support and plant-modification services to a mature EPC partner executing safety-related upgrades in highly regulated operating environments. Central to this journey has been the company’s long-standing involvement at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station.
The address will highlight Lesedi’s contribution to Koeberg’s Long-Term Operation (LTO) programme, which extends the plant’s operational life beyond its original design basis, as well as the execution of complex, safety-significant outage projects requiring stringent configuration control and close coordination with international OEMs.
He will also discuss Lesedi’s expanding international footprint, from participation in global outage campaigns to its recent Design Agency Agreement in the UAE, highlighting the company’s alignment with international quality assurance and engineering standards.
In addressing the question of local industry participation in nuclear, he will focus on quality alignment as the primary barrier to entry, emphasising that nuclear standards extend far beyond conventional ISO compliance. Participation in the sector requires full traceability, disciplined configuration management, controlled procurement, documented engineering justification, and a deeply embedded culture of procedural adherence. In nuclear, every deliverable form part of a defensible safety case; processes must therefore be auditable, repeatable, and robust.
The session will further reference Lesedi’s alignment with leading nuclear quality frameworks, including ISO 19443, NQA-1 principles, RD-0034 approvals, and adherence to guidance from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Collectively, these accreditations position Lesedi to deliver complex engineering and EPC services within highly regulated nuclear environments.
In closing, he will outline three practical recommendations for local industry: maturing quality management systems, institutionalising procedural discipline, and pursuing strategic partnerships. The discussion will further emphasise that collaboration with experienced nuclear organisations offers a structured, lower-risk pathway for capable local suppliers to enter the sector, build competence progressively, and integrate into compliant governance frameworks.