Nucleoeléctrica Argentina says it has secured the necessary funds to carry out the Atucha 1 life extension project.

The National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) of Argentina says the country is aiming to contribute its experience and facilities to collaborate with countries interested in adopting nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes.

The 230-tonne cyclotron, which will produce proton beams for advanced cancer therapy, was lifted into the building in two stages this week.

Argentina's Nuclear Regulatory Authority says that planned upgrades and improvements to allow a 20-year extension to the Atucha I nuclear power unit will "raise the design basis of the facility to a higher level of safety than that with which it was originally licensed".

The Critical Design Review for Argentina's CAREM small modular reactor should be completed within 60 days, the new president of the National Atomic Energy Commission, Germán Guido Lavalle, has said.

Argentina's National Atomic Energy Commission and nuclear construction specialists INVAP have held a workshop focused on the design of the facility which will form part of the complex alongside the new RA-10 multipurpose reactor.

Argentina's nuclear regulator has issued a renewed licence to Nucleoeléctrica Argentina for the operation of the second unit of the Atucha nuclear power plant until 26 May 2026.

The International Atomic Energy Agency experts praised measures already taken and the "professionalism, openness and receptiveness exhibited by the plant staff towards suggestions for improvement" after a 10-day Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation mission to Argentina.

The RA-10 reflector tank was manufactured by INVAP over 32 months at the Bariloche Atomic Centre. It is made of zirconium alloy and weighs 2540 kilograms, is 2 metres in diameter and 1.4 metres tall.

The RA-10 multipurpose research reactor is now about 80% completed, with its reflector tank set to be installed as construction enters its final phases, Argentina's Foreign Minister Diana Mondino was told during a tour of the facility.

The small-angle neutron scattering instrument is 33 metres long when assembled and has been donated by the German Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin institute following the closure of the BER-II reactor in 2019. It will be reassembled and come into operation when Argentina's RA-10 multipurpose research reactor begins operating.

The National Atomic Energy Commission and Nucleoeléctrica Argentina have signed a framework agreement for technical assistance for the country's CAREM small modular reactor project.