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CAREM () is a
CAREM () is a small modular reactor
The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...
for electrical power generation under construction since 2014, near the city of Zárate, in the northern part of Buenos Aires province beside the Atucha I Nuclear Power Plant.
Design
The reactor was integrally designed by CNEA (National Atomic Energy Commission
The National Atomic Energy Commission (, CNEA) is the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development.
The agency was created on 31 May 1950, with the mission of developing and controlling nuclear energy for pea ...
), being the first power reactor designed by the country. It is basically a simplified pressurized water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada).
In a PWR, water is used both as ...
(PWR) designed to have an electrical output of 25MW for the first prototype, 100MW in the following one. It is an integral reactor – the coolant system is inside the reactor vessel – so that the entire plant operates at the same pressure. This design minimizes the risk of loss-of-coolant accident
A loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) is a mode of failure for a nuclear reactor; if not managed effectively, the results of a LOCA could result in reactor core damage. Each nuclear plant's emergency core cooling system (ECCS) exists specifically to ...
s (LOCA). Its fuel is uranium oxide
Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium.
The metal uranium forms several oxides:
* Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO2, the mineral uraninite or pitchblende)
* Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U2O5)
* Uranium trioxide or ...
with a enrichment of 3.4% that needs to be replaced annually. The primary coolant system uses natural circulation
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convect ...
, so there are no pumps required, which provides inherent safety
In the chemical and process industries, a process has inherent safety if it has a low level of danger even if things go wrong. Inherent safety contrasts with other processes where a high degree of hazard is controlled by protective systems. As p ...
against core meltdown
A nuclear meltdown (core meltdown, core melt accident, meltdown or partial core melt) is a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term ''nuclear meltdown'' is not officially defined by the Internatio ...
, even in accident situations.
History
In 1984 it was presented publicly for the first time during anIAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
conference in Peru. For political reasons the project was halted but was relaunched by the 2006 Argentine nuclear reactivation plan.
The 25 MWe
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor o ...
prototype version of CAREM currently being built will be followed by a second one of 100–200 MWe to be installed in Formosa Province
Formosa Province () is a province in northeastern Argentina, part of the Gran Chaco Region. Formosa's northeast end touches Asunción, Paraguay, and the province borders the provinces of Chaco and Salta to its south and west, respectively. The ...
.
As of 2013, the first prototype was planned to receive its first fuel load in 2017. First concrete was poured in February 2014.
As of 2016, the completion of the project was scheduled for the end of 2018. Cost has been estimated to US$446-700 million. As of 2018, the start date was deferred to 2020.
In November 2019, construction was halted due to late payments to the contractor, design changes and late delivery of technical documentation. A new contract for finishing the concrete structures of the reactor was awarded in November 2021.
In September 2024, construction had once again halted due to the mass layoff of 153 construction workers. This is projected to be due to lack of sufficient funding, despite union representatives claiming that construction is 85% complete. See also
*List of small modular reactor designs
Small modular reactors (SMR) are much smaller than the current nuclear reactors (300MWe or less) and have compact and scalable designs which propose to offer safety, construction, and economic benefits, and offering potential for lower initial cap ...
References
External links
* Nuclear reactors Nuclear technology in Argentina {{Argentina-struct-stub Small modular reactor