Argentina - World Nuclear Performance Report
Argentina has two nuclear power plants: Atucha, about 100 km northwest of Buenos Aires; and Embalse, about 100 km south of Córdoba. The Atucha plant comprises two Siemens-designed pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) that started up in 1974 and 2014; and Embalse, a single Candu 6 PHWR unit from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) that commenced operation in 1983.
A long-term operation project at Atucha 1 began at the end of September 2024. The shutdown is expected to last two-to-three years and would allow the unit to operate for a further two decades.
Construction of the 29 MWe CAREM25 prototype SMR – also at the Atucha site – began in early 2014 but has been beset by delays. Following government cuts to the budget of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), in May 2024 construction was halted and hundreds of workers at the site were laid off.
The President of the Argentine Nuclear Council, Demian Reidel, said in March 2025 that four ACR-300 small modular reactors, with a combined capacity of 1.2 GWe, will be installed at the Atucha site. The ACR-300 design has been developed by Argentine technical project company Invap. Reidel has said that Argentina aims to be among the first countries to sell SMRs commercially.
Electricity generation by age of reactor
