Argentina Plans 300 MW SMR at Atucha

• Argentina Plans 300 MW SMR at Atucha
• SGE to Invest $46B to Build 14 BWRX300 SMRs in the UK
• DOE Takes Next Steps for Used Nuclear Fuel Recycling Partnerships
• NRC Proposes Major Modernization of Environmental Review Process 

Argentina Plans 300 MW SMR at Atucha

• US-Based Meitner Energy offers a ‘Small Modular Reactor Plan’ For Argentina
• The 300-MW plant would be at the site of the existing Atucha nuclear station

(NucNet contributed to this report)  US-based energy firm Meitner Energy has presented plans to the Argentine government to build a 300 MW small modular reactor (SMR) at the Atucha nuclear power station site in Argentina with an investment of $1.2 billion.

The Argentine government confirmed Meitner Energy plans to build its Generation III+ ACR-300 pressurized water small SMR at the Atucha site, around 120 km from the capital Buenos Aires.

Reports said that the $1.2 billion investment in the SMR would come from US investors. The project is said to be backed by consulting company Ansari Group led by US-Iranian businessman Hamid Ansari.

Argentina’s nuclear affairs secretary, Federico Ramos Napoli, commented on the plans on his X social media account after presenting plans for the SMR alongside Meitner Energy chief executive officer Teófilo Lacroze.

Ramos Napoli said: “It is exactly the type of model that we have been driving: the state generates the conditions and guarantees the predictability required, and the private sector invests the capital and assumes the risks. All of this is in line with Argentina’s Nuclear Policy that we presented at the end of May.”

Argentina created a secretary for nuclear affairs in 2025 operating under the Ministry for Economy to oversee operations of nuclear energy and waste management at every stage of the nuclear lifecycle.

Construction of the Meitner SMR plant is projected to take five years from approval by the Argentine government and the issuing of licences.

The IAEA said that in 2015 a Carem-25 SMR with a 25-MW capacity was under construction, but work is said to have been stopped. Unconfirmed press reports have said the Carem-25 faces severe delays. Following extensive budget cuts in 2024 by the Argentine government, hundreds of workers were laid off, the reports said. The reactor is approximately 85% complete, but there have been no recent construction updates

Meitner Energy’s plans would mark a significant jump from the Carem 25’s capacity. Reports said that Meitner Energy intended to qualify for incentives for large-scale investments under a program proposed by Argentine president Javier Milei’s government.

About Meiter’s SMR Plans for a 300 MW SMR 

 Management Team & Backgrounds: The leadership presenting Meitner Energy’s modular reactor initiative includes Teófilo Lacroze (CEO of Meitner Energy Latam) and Pablo Franzetti (Director of External Affairs and New Business in Argentina), with the venture heavily steered by U.S.-Iranian businessman Hamid Ansari. CEO Teófilo Lacroze possesses over 30 years of executive experience in the energy sector, previously serving as the president of Shell in Argentina and vice president of upstream business development.

• While Lacroze’s core legacy lies in the oil and gas industry rather than traditional nuclear infrastructure, his transition to Meitner Energy centers on deploying nuclear power as a scalable, zero-carbon commercial asset.
• Director Pablo Franzetti and chairman Hamid Ansari bring corporate development, regulatory strategy, and international venture capital backgrounds to steer the project under Argentina’s updated foreign investment incentives.

Investors & Financial Commitments: Meitner Energy is a joint venture established in Delaware, backed by a total project framework of $1.2 billion entirely financed through private capital. The equity ownership and financial positioning are structured as follows:

• The Ansari Group: Controlled by businessman Hamid Ansari, this U.S.-based corporation holds a controlling 60% stake in Meitner Energy and acts as the primary vehicle backing the $1.2 billion funding initiative.
• Black River Technology (BRT): This U.S.-registered firm holds the remaining 40% stake in Meitner Energy. BRT is controlled directly by INVAP, Argentina’s state-owned applied technology and aerospace corporation.

Technical Specifications & Reactor Design Origin: The proposed facility features the ACR-300 (Advanced Compact Reactor), which marks a major departure from Argentina’s previous state-led SMR projects.

• Specifications: The ACR-300 is a 300 MW Generation III+ small modular reactor. It is designed as a pressurized water system that adapts Candu heavy-water technology principles but utilizes light water cooling, positioning it cleanly as a scalable and highly profitable asset for private grids and international export.
• Design Origin: Meitner Energy did not purchase this design from an outside competitor. The ACR-300 was originally designed and developed in Argentina by INVAP, which patented the technology in the United States. Because Meitner Energy was formed as a strategic alliance with INVAP’s subsidiary (BRT), Meitner co-owns the commercial rights and patent to deploy and build this homegrown Argentine technology.

& & &

SGE to Invest $46B to Build 14 BWRX300 SMRs in the UK

SGE, a European Small Modular Reactor (SMR) development and investment platform, announced its plans to build fourteen GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactors on three sites in the UK. The deployment team includes SGE, GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Samsung C&T, Laing O’Rourke, Aecon Group Inc., Fermi Development, Etara and an experienced nuclear operator.

The company has submitted an application under the UK’s Advanced Nuclear Framework (ANF) to develop a combined 4.2GW fleet which could deliver enough clean power for 11% of UK power demand or equivalent to an estimated almost eight million homes for at least sixty years. To support this ambition, SGE has established SGE SMR UK Limited as its dedicated UK-based project vehicle. The first units are expected to enter commercial operation in 2034.

SGE’s proposal reflects a fleet-based development model, centred on repeatable deployment at scale. The project is targeting three multi-unit sites, the first to host six BWRX-300 units, with two further sites to follow in quick succession. In total, the program represents a significant addition to the UK’s future nuclear capacity and supports the country’s long-term energy security, clean power and industrial growth ambitions.

The UK project builds on significant regulatory groundwork already in place for the BWRX-300. The technology is under licensed construction in Canada and is on schedule to be the first SMR to operate in the OECD. In December 2025, the BWRX-300 successfully completed Step 2 of the UK’s Generic Design Assessment.

NucNet reported that Polish billionaire Michael Solowow is the lead investor for the project.  Sołowow is planning a £35bn (€40bn, $46bn) fleet of 14 small modular reactors (SMRs) on three sites across the UK. Sołowow’s nuclear development company SGE plans to invest between £2.2bn to £2.5bn in each 300 MW reactor alongside a string of industrial partners including the US manufacturer GE Vernova and Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi, which are responsible for the design of the BWRX-300 SMR technology that will be used for the project.

A joint venture agreement, signed by SGE in London, also includes Google Cloud, which Sołowow hopes will also partner on investing up to £4.5bn in data centres to make use of the nuclear output.

The consortium, known as SGE SMR, hopes to secure three sites for the reactors by this time next year as well as a government support contract which would guarantee a competitive price for its electricity once it starts generating in 2034. One of the consortium members is Fermi Development, a UK‑based nuclear developer which has already screened more than 100 sites, with around 40 sites identified as potentially developable. Other consortium members include engineering and construction companies Laing O’Rourke, Samsung C&T and Aecon.

UK Has ‘A Clear Path To Market’

Sołowow said the government’s advanced nuclear framework., which aims to fast-track the rollout of nuclear technologies, had created “a clear path to market” in the “home to one of the world’s most experienced nuclear workforces”.

“Because of this, I am confident we will set a new standard for nuclear development by combining our disruptive business model with the BWRX-300’s 10th-generation proven technology,” Sołowow’s said.

“We will rely strongly on the UK supply chain; it is a critical element for our project. Our project will create a distinct competitive advantage for the UK economy.”

In December 2025, the BWRX-300 successfully completed Step 2 of the UK’s generic design assessment licensing process conducted by the Environment Agency, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, and Natural Resources Wales. Regulators confirmed that their assessment identified no fundamental safety, security, safeguards, or environmental protection shortfalls with the design that could prevent its deployment in England and Wales.

SGE’s plans put it in competition with UK company Rolls-Royce SMR, which recently signed a contract with government body Great British Energy – Nuclear that enables work to start immediately on the delivery of three Rolls-Royce SMRs at Wylfa, on the coast of Ynys Môn (Anglesey) in North Wales.

Rolls-Royce SMR has also agreed an early works contract with Czech utility ČEZ to progress licensing, permitting and site-specific design for deployment at the existing Temelín nuclear site in the Czech Republic.

Last month Swedish nuclear project development company Videberg Kraft announced the selection of Rolls-Royce SMR as its partner to deliver three SMRs near the existing Ringhals nuclear site on Sweden’s west coast, with the first scheduled to begin commercial operation in the mid-2030s.

& & &

DOE Takes Next Steps for Used Nuclear Fuel Recycling Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) has closed the application period for its Request for Applications (RFA) seeking a private-sector partner to design, build, and operate a next-generation used nuclear fuel recycling and conditioning facility, marking the transition from outreach to review and selection in one of the department’s most closely watched nuclear energy initiatives.

The application window closed June 19, ending a two-month solicitation period that invited industry to propose a commercial-scale demonstration facility at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The project is designed to recycle fuel from EM’s existing inventory, specifically 3,400 unused fuel elements from DOE’s Advanced Test Reactor, into high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), the advanced fuel needed to power the next generation of nuclear reactors now in development across the country.

“This is a pivotal moment for the program,” said Paul Murray, EM senior advisor for used nuclear fuel and high-level waste. “We’ve moved from gathering ideas to choosing the partner who will carry this mission forward.”

The RFA builds on momentum generated at an Industry Day held May 27 in Idaho Falls, which drew strong commercial interest and prompted extensive discussion among nuclear technology developers and federal officials. That turnout reinforced the department’s confidence that the private sector is prepared to make a serious, long-term investment in domestic used fuel recycling capability.

With the application period now closed, federal evaluators will begin reviewing submissions. The selected offeror(s) will receive a long-term lease of prime federal land at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) — the same site where the United States operated reprocessing facilities during the Cold War — and will be responsible for the full lifecycle of the new facility, from design and financing through construction, operations, and eventual decommissioning.

The chosen partner or partners will be positioned to lead the effort to unlock value from EM’s used fuel inventory, supplying HALEU for advanced reactors that utilities, technology developers and national security programs are increasingly counting on as demand for nuclear-generated electricity accelerates nationwide.

The initiative is a direct outgrowth of executive action based on an executive orders directing the Department of Energy to identify uranium and plutonium materials suitable for recycling into reactor fuel, and to rebuild the domestic nuclear industrial base, provided the policy foundation for the RFA.

DOE said in its press statement that “selecting a partner for the Idaho recycling demonstration will mark a concrete step toward fulfilling both directives while reinforcing the administration’s broader goal of strengthening American energy independence and reducing reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium.”

& & &

NRC Proposes Major Modernization of Environmental Review Process 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed the most comprehensive update to its environmental review regulations in decades, narrowing environmental reviews to impacts within the agency’s statutory authority and expanding opportunities to streamline licensing for new nuclear projects while maintaining environmental protections. 

The proposal also expands the use of categorical exclusions for certain actions, including some new reactor projects, where the NRC has determined they normally do not result in significant environmental impacts. 

“This proposal focuses our environmental reviews on what matters most,” Chairman Ho K. Nieh said. “By concentrating on impacts the NRC can address, we’ll strengthen environmental protection while making licensing reviews more timely and predictable.” 

Together with the NRC’s recently completed rules on categorical exclusions and generic environmental findings for new reactors, this proposal represents a significant modernization of environmental regulations. 

Collectively, these actions create a more focused, efficient and predictable framework for reviewing future nuclear projects while maintaining compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the NRC’s environmental responsibilities. 

The proposal implements recent amendments to the law, reflects recent court decisions and advances the regulatory modernization goals of Executive Order 14300. The NRC will accept public comments until Aug. 21 and plans to hold a public meeting during the comment period. 

# # #