In the presence of the undersecretary of Nuclear Energy of the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Nation, Mr. Julián Gadano, and the president of the CNEA, Mr. Osvaldo Calzetta Larrieu , Fernando Villá Parenti, Managing Director of Work CAREM, Carlos Terrado, vice-president of NA-SA, authorities of the firm TECNA, and representatives of the company Siemens Argentina, both involved in the works of the Balance of Plant (BOP) witnessed the arrival of critical equipment for the CAREM25 at the Atucha Nuclear Complex in the province of Buenos Aires.
The act also involved Fernando Villá Parenti, Managing Director of Work CAREM; Carlos Terrado, vice-president of NA-SA, authorities of the firm TECNA, and representatives of the company Siemens Argentina, both involved in the works of the Balance of Plant () of the prototype CAREM25.
The delivery of the last components that will make up the Balance of Plant – set of facilities and equipment necessary for electric generation – of the CAREM25 prototype, establishes a real milestone for the project carried out by the National Atomic Energy Commission. “CAREM is a very special project because it allows CNEA to develop many other things. Although many technological and commercial challenges have to be faced and resolved, this could allow Argentina to position itself in a higher place in the field of nuclear power generation and offer the world a solution to its energy problems through the SMR, these small modular reactors that could be built faster and with less capital investment, “assured Mr. Gadano.
The turbine, the electric generator and the rest of the equipment that is part of the BOP will be installed inside the turbo group building, currently under construction next to the reactor itself. The BOP was awarded in August 2016 to TECNA Engineering Projects and Projects, a contract that under the “turnkey” modality covers the entire conventional island and the tertiary circuit, as well as the demineralization plant and the auxiliary boiler.
The turbine was manufactured by Siemens (nominated subcontractor of TECNA), in the facilities that the company owns in Germany. There also took place between December and January the strict tests in which it was successfully verified that the rotating parts support the operating conditions without causing damage to its components.
During the ceremony, the engineer Federico Rota, head of Engineering of the BOP of the CAREM Project, explained that with the arrival of the components of the Balance of Plant “begins a new stage in which we will participate in the inspection of the equipment and then in the assembly and the tests “.
Likewise, Oscar Barbán, General Director of TECNA for the South Region, highlighted the extensive experience of the company in different projects in the nuclear sector and said: “From the private sector we are interested in continuing to participate in the development of nuclear energy in Argentina and , with this project, outside the country, since it is a technology that could be exported “.
CAREM 25 (Central Argentina de Elementos Modulares) is the first nuclear power reactor entirely designed and built in Argentina. With its construction, the national nuclear industry reaffirms its capacity for the development and start-up of nuclear power plants. At the same time, it is positioned as one of the leaders in the segment of low and medium power SMR (Small Modular Reactors) modular reactors.
In 2014, CNEA started the construction of the building of the first prototype of this low power reactor (32 MW electric), with capacity to meet the energy needs of a city of 120 thousand inhabitants. Likewise, this PRW-type nuclear reactor may be used for other uses such as the generation of energy in industrial parks, the provision of steam for industrial use, the energy supply of seawater desalination plants or the hydrocarbon or mining exploitation in remote locations, among other purposes.
Source: National Atomic Energy Commission
