Armenia - World Nuclear Outlook Report

Projection of future nuclear capacity in Armenia in 2050

Armenia has one operable reactor and plans for a new reactor. Two units were constructed at Metsamor and were connected to the grid in 1976 and 1980. Following an earthquake in 1988 both units were taken offline. Unit 2 was returned to service in 1995. This single operable reactor generates more than a quarter of the country’s electricity.

In March 2023 the government approved a 10-year operating lifetime extension for Metsamor 2. The government stated that the several planned investments, along with the already implemented upgrades, could extend the operating lifetime of the reactor to 2036.³⁴

Long-term operation

In 2021, Metsamor 2 was shut for a 140-day outage to allow for a further extension of its operating lifetime, including work to allow operation to 2026 and preparatory work for a further extension to 2036. The unit’s power was upgraded from 376 MWe to 416 MWe. Additional work to support the extension of operation to 2036 took place during the unit’s maintenance shutdown in 2025.³⁵

New capacity

Large-scale reactors

Construction of a new nuclear plant has long been part of Armenia’s overall plan, although finance has proved to be an obstacle.³⁶

In May 2023 the country's prime minister said that negotiations were underway with "Russia, the USA and third countries" on the construction of a new nuclear plant.

Small-scale reactors

In a January 2024 Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan was reported as stating that discussions with the US regarding SMRs have entered a “substantive phase”. Later in 2024, the US State Department confirmed that it had received an application from Armenia to expedite the process.³⁷

In October 2024 prime minister Pashinyan said the Armenian government had made "a strategic decision" to build a small modular reactor and was reviewing multiple potential vendors.