Prototype of Argentina's CAREM Modular Nuclear Reactor to be Deployed in Formosa Province

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Following the Argentine senate's approval of a bill to construct a fourth nuclear reactor in the country, the governor of Formosa province has announced that a prototype of the Central Argentina Modular Elements (CAREM) nuclear reactor will be constructed in the province.

The reactor was developed by technology company Investigacion Applicada (INVAP) (Rio Negro, Argentina), owned by Rio Negro province, under a contract with the Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica (CNEA), which was charged with the design, implementation and commissioning of the reactor.

The reactor is a simple modular pressurized water reactor (PWR) containing integral steam generators. In standard operating mode, it has an electrical production capacity of 27 megawatts (MW), but can also operate as a research reactor capable of producing up to 100 MW of thermal energy. The reactor is also capable as acting as a desalination plant in a cogeneration configuration, in which it has an electrical production capacity of 8 MW.

The CAREM design places the complete primary coolant system within the reactor vessel. The cooling system is self-pressurized and relies entirely on convection for circulation. The reactor uses standard 3.4% enriched PWR fuel and is refueled annually.

Feasibility studies carried out by INVAP have shown that by incorporating minor engineering changes, the CAREM reactor can be scaled up to generate 300 MW of electricity, making it more attractive to developing countries or isolated areas.

The CNEA was established in 1950, but it was not until 1964 that attention was focused on electricity generation through nuclear power, resulting in Argentina's first nuclear power plant being constructed in Lima, Argentina, about 115 kilometers from Buenos Aires. This plant, known as Atucha-1, was commissioned in 1974 and contains a pressurized heavy water reactor manufactured by Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) with an electrical generating capacity of 335 MW.

A second feasibility study was undertaken in 1967 to determine the possibilities for a larger nuclear plant in the Cordoba region. This resulted in the construction of the Embalse power plant, about 500 kilometers inland, which began commercial production of 600 MW of electrical energy in 1984, using a CANDU-6 reactor from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (Mississauga, Ontario).

In 1979, the Argentine government decided to construct four further reactors, scheduled to come online between 1987 and 1997, with the first being a 692-MW unit in Buenos Aires, to be known as Atucha-2. Construction started in 1981 using a Siemens reactor, but was suspended in 1994 because of a lack of funds.

Nucleoelectrica Argentina SA, under the control of the Ministry of Economy, was set up in 1994 to take over from CNEA in controlling nuclear power plants. In 2003, NASA presented plans to the government for the completion of Atucha-2. To date, the plant is still non-operational, although in 2006 the Argentine government stated that the project would be completed by 2010.

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