Argentina is back in the race to develop the SMR technology and aims to sell the Carem to Indonesia. The National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) is building the CAREM 25. At the same time, in the industrial area of the Mendoza district of Godoy Cruz, the IMPSA company continues to manufacture the pressure vessel for the reactor
In November 2009, the National Congress declared the CAREM of national interest and instructed the CNEA to move forward with the design, execution, and implementation of a prototype in Zarate. The CNEA is already working on a commercial reactor in cooperation with the industry, including CONUAR and IMPSA.
Juan Carlos Fernández, CEO of the IMPSA, indicated that the CAREM would be built by 2021. It would be essential for Argentina’s future to export nuclear power generation reactors. Argentina is looking for a customer that will help in financing the development of Carem: Indonesia is a target market with its 13,000 islands, its ships provide the fuel to 3,500 islands every day.
Note: The company IMPSA obtained the tender for the pressure vessel in 2013, and the following year began with the manufacturing. That same year IMPSA went into insolvency, and only in April 2019 completed the restructuring of its debt. Since then, 65 percent of the company’s shares are in the hands of a group of financial entities headed by the National Bank, while the Pescarmona family kept the remaining 35 percent, although it has no impact on the day by day or in the strategic decisions of the company.
Original Article Here
