CNEA
🇦🇷 AR · Active
The Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA) is Argentina's government agency for nuclear research and development, created on 31 May 1950. It runs the Bariloche, Constituyentes and Ezeiza atomic centres, each with research reactors. It designed CAREM, a small integral pressurised water reactor whose roughly 30 MWe prototype, CAREM25, has been under construction near Zárate since 2014; work stopped in 2019 over late payments and again in September 2024, when 153 construction workers were laid off for lack of funding. At Ezeiza it has built the RA-10, a multipurpose research reactor for medical isotopes and science, which it says is in pre-operational testing.
- Sector
- Fission
- Technology
- Pressurised water reactor
- Role
- Reactor developer, Research institute, Operator
It is the operator of record for 6 reactors, 3 of them operating.
Terms
- Pressurised water reactor
- Ordinary (light) water kept under high pressure so it heats without boiling, transferring heat to a separate steam loop; the water is both coolant and moderator. Fuel is low-enriched uranium oxide pellets in zirconium-alloy rods. The most common reactor type in service worldwide.
Designs
| Design | Developer | Approach | Electrical output per unit | Size class | Licensing stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAREM CAREM25 | CNEA | Pressurised water reactor | 30 MWe planned | Small modular reactor | No milestone recorded |
Design values
| Device | Parameter | Value | Unit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RA-1 Enrico Fermi | Thermal capacity (rated) | 0.04 | MW | design valueclaimed |
| RA-10 | Thermal capacity (rated) | 30 | MW | design valueplanned |
| RA-3 | Thermal capacity (rated) | 10 | MW | design valueclaimed |
| RA-6 | Thermal capacity (rated) | 0.5 | MW | design valueclaimed |
| RA-8 | Thermal capacity (rated) | 10⁻⁵ | MW | design valueclaimed |
Devices
Related companies
Sources
- Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica CNEAoperator
- National Atomic Energy Commissionaggregator
- CAREMaggregator
- Reactor Argentino Multipropósito RA-10 | Argentina.gob.aroperator