As Argentina’s National Atomic Energy Commission celebrated its 75th anniversary, plans for the deployment of four ACR-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) and restarting uranium mining and enrichment were among the priorities outlined.
Demian Reidel is the President of the Argentine Nuclear Council. He told the event held at the site of the RA-10 multipurpose reactor, “With the development of the ACR-300, we will offer the world a clean, stable, and scalable source of energy. The ACR-300, a 300 MW technological marvel designed by Argentine engineers, is a centerpiece of the Nuclear Power Plan, which will position our country at the forefront of the new energy revolution. We are going to begin construction of four modules at the Atucha site, which will allow us to nearly double the country’s installed nuclear capacity. This is only the first stage. Then, we will license this technology to the rest of the world. This will not only transform our energy mix, it will also change Argentina’s export mix.”
Germán Guido Lavalle is the President of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA). He outlined the organization’s five key targets for the coming year. These include reaching criticality at the RA-10 plant, beginning the refurbishment of the Heavy Water Industrial Plant (PIAP), restarting uranium mining; launching the Argentine Proton Therapy Center, and resuming uranium enrichment to complete the nuclear fuel cycle.
Lavalle said, “We have a National Atomic Energy Commission that, through technological development and human resource training, has provided the platform for the emergence of nuclear sector companies that today compete globally, export, create jobs, and offer services in Argentina. This is a true success of state policy.”.
Reidel is also a chief adviser to Argentina’s President Javier Mile. He told La Nacion last week that the aim was for Argentina to be the first country, or among the first, to sell SMRs. He said that the National Nuclear Plan is aimed at accelerating the development of the ACR-300, developed by INVAP with private capital, and “aims to have the four modules operational within five years”.
He has also suggested that the sale of SMRs could include a commitment to purchase Argentine uranium. He added in a March interview with Infobae that it was “crazy” for the country to import uranium for its existing reactors despite having substantial reserves.
The anniversary ceremony for the anniversary was broadcast across all CNEA’s centers. The commission was created in 1950. Its mission “is to consolidate Argentina’s position as a leading nation in the peaceful and safe use of nuclear energy, having been committed to scientific and technological development since its inception”.
Argentina currently has three operable nuclear power units. The Atucha 1 was connected in 1974, the Atucha 2 was connected in 2014 and Embalse was connected to the grid in 1983. Between them they generate about five percent of the country’s electricity. There had been plans for a fourth unit called Atucha III. However, it appears that has been superseded by the SMR plans.
Argentina has already had an SMR in development called the the CAREM SMR. The name comes from Central Argentina de Elementos Modulares. It is a thirty-two-megawatt prototype and is Argentina’s first domestically designed and developed nuclear power reactor. First concrete was poured in 2014, but construction has been suspended a number of times. It is estimated to be about two-thirds complete. With reports of funding uncertainty, a Critical Design Review was ordered for it in May of last year because of funding uncertainty.
Argentina’s National Atomic Energy Commission