Nucleoeléctrica Argentina advances dry storage testing at Atucha II Power Nuclear Plant

Nucleoeléctrica Argentina S.A., operator of the country's three nuclear power plants, is advancing with commissioning tests of the main equipment for the Atucha II Dry Spent Fuel Storage project (ASECG II), a facility designed to support plant operation over the coming decades.

The tests are part of the verification process prior to system start-up, allowing every planned handling operation to be checked and adjusted. Among the equipment currently under testing is the gantry crane, which will move the storage containers within the facility.

ASECG II will have capacity for up to 50,000 spent fuel assemblies on the plant site, under permanent monitoring and in line with applicable nuclear industry safety standards. The facility complements the existing spent fuel pools, where fuel is cooled under water during its first years after use in the reactor and whose maximum capacity is expected to be reached by December 2027.

The project was engineered entirely in Argentina, with extensive participation of domestic suppliers in the manufacturing of equipment and components.

Fifty years of operation, now also an export capability

ASECG II builds on the experience Nucleoeléctrica has accumulated since 1974, when Atucha I became the first operating nuclear power plant in Latin America. The company currently operates three plants —Atucha I, Atucha II and Embalse— and has delivered highly complex projects, including the Embalse life extension, which enabled a second 30-year operating cycle.

That track record gave rise to a business line focused on exporting nuclear services. The company has supplied components for CANDU reactors, provided technical assistance in retubing operations to international operators, trained sector professionals and signed service agreements with counterparts abroad.