Nuclear Energy Hopes Stir in Latin America

By Simon West

Why is Latin America lagging in the global nuclear energy race, and could that be about to change? From Mexico to Argentina, fresh momentum is sparking a revival of long-stalled ambitions. We speak with Latin America-based forwarders, developers, and industry experts to uncover the emerging opportunities – and challenges – as nuclear energy edges back onto the regional agenda.

From Issue 4, 2025 of Breakbulk Magazine.

(5-minuter read)

Nuclear power has long played a minor role in Latin America’s energy mix, but that may soon change. As countries search for reliable, low-carbon solutions, nuclear is gaining fresh momentum, with the emergence of small modular reactors (SMRs) – advanced reactors with a generating capacity of up to 300 megawatts (MW) – expanding investment options and opening up potential new project opportunities.

Recent moves across the region signal a shift – most notably in Argentina.

Earlier this year, Demian Reidel – head of President Javier Milei’s council of advisors – revealed plans to install four locally-designed ACR-300 SMRs at the Atucha nuclear site at Zarate, Buenos Aires province. The reactors would boast a combined 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of power, with the first unit slated to be operational by 2030.

“This (the installation of ACR-300s) is just the first stage,” Reidel said at an energy conference in Buenos Aires province in June. “We will then license this technology to the rest of the world. This will not only transform our energy mix – it will also change Argentina’s export mix. We have an enormous competitive advantage: extraordinary human capital and our own technology.”

As part of the government’s broader push to launch a new nuclear era, officials have also proposed restarting uranium mining and enrichment and even building a “Nuclear City”, a would-be clean energy hub for nuclear-powered data centers in southern Patagonia.

Argentina already operates three large-scale nuclear power plants (NPPs) – Atucha I, Atucha II, and Embalse – with a combined capacity of more than 1.6 GWe. The facilities supply about 6% of the nation’s electricity. The country’s National Atomic Energy Commission (Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, or CNEA), which oversees research and development of nuclear energy in Argentina, is also developing CAREM25, a 29-MWe SMR prototype, at the Atucha plant site at Zarate.

Juan Turner, director and owner of Argentina-based project forwarder Rowners, said he expected project cargo for the buildout of the ACR-300 reactors to move in both directions – imports coming into the country and deliveries leaving it.

Rowners, a member of The Heavy Lift Group (THLG), has valuable experience in the sector – the company’s in-house customs broker supported the Atucha II facility for more than two years, managing the import of critical materials – mainly through air freight – for the facility’s start-up phase.

“There will certainly be import shipments arriving in Argentina to support the project,” Turner said. “And if the technology proves scalable for international markets, there’s potential for export cargo as well. While this won’t happen immediately, we do expect cargo flows both ways. We’re confident there’s room for nuclear energy growth in Argentina and the broader region.”

Brazil Looks Beyond Angra

Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, also sees nuclear energy as a key element of its long-term energy transition strategy.

State-controlled Eletronuclear operates the Angra 1 and Angra 2 full-scale plants in Rio de Janeiro state and is currently building the Angra 3 facility, although the project has suffered numerous setbacks since plans were first drawn up four decades ago to build a third reactor at Angra dos Reis.

Eletronuclear said the 1.4-GW plant is 65 percent complete.

“The completion of Angra 3 remains a central priority,” Leonam Guimarães, CEO of Eletronuclear between 2017 to 2022, told Breakbulk. “Once operational – expected around the early 2030s – it will add significant dispatchable capacity to the southeast grid.”

Guimarães, who currently serves as executive directorate advisor at Amazul, a Brazilian state-owned company that helps develop and manage nuclear and defense technologies, pointed to growing interest in deploying SMRs, especially in remote northern regions with weak infrastructure and variable hydropower.

SMRs could also offer low-carbon energy and heat for heavy industries in states such as Pará and Minas Gerais and support clean hydrogen production for domestic use and export.

“While no SMR projects have yet entered the licensing phase, feasibility studies are underway, and Brazilian stakeholders – government agencies, research centers, and industry players – are closely monitoring international SMR developments,” Guimarães said. “The country’s near-term focus remains on completing Angra 3, but the medium-to-long-term outlook includes a more diversified nuclear portfolio, in which SMRs should play a role.”

Nuclear Expansion Gap

Promising steps aside, Latin America’s nuclear expansion still lags behind other regions.

According to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), 440 nuclear power reactors are operating across 31 countries worldwide with a combined capacity of about 400 GWe. In 2023 these provided 2,602 terawatt-hours (TWh,) about 9% of the world’s electricity. Latin America accounts for only seven of those reactors – three in Argentina and two each in Brazil and Mexico – with a total capacity of 5 GWe.

Additionally, around 70 reactors are under construction worldwide, with a further 100 planned. Just one of those is in Latin America – Argentina’s CAREM25, the world’s first SMR to reach construction stage. The project has been slated to come online by 2028.

Still, among the 30 countries pinpointed by the WNA that are considering, planning or starting nuclear power programs, seven are in Latin America and the Caribbean: Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay.

Added to that list could be El Salvador, whose lawmakers last year passed legislation to create a regulatory framework for building and operating NPPs. Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a landmark civil nuclear cooperation agreement with El Salvador – the first such deal in Central America.

Unlocking the full potential of nuclear power will require the region to tackle several challenges.

Andrés Rebolledo, a former Chilean energy minister and now executive secretary of the Latin American Energy Organization (Olade), said priorities include updating regulations to align with international safety standards and streamlining the permitting system for new projects – particularly SMRs.

Innovative financing models, including public-private partnerships and government guarantees, will be key, he said, alongside regional cooperation and support from bodies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Rebolledo pointed to the “significant advantages” of SMRs for Latin America, citing lower upfront costs compared with traditional gigawatt-scale reactors, modular designs that enable phased deployment, and easier installation in hard-to-access locations.

Infrastructure Constraints

Among those eyeing SMR deployment is Colombia, a country anxious to offset an over-reliance on hydro power, which accounts for about 70% of its electricity output.

In its latest national energy plan, the government included proposals to add up to 1.8 GW of nuclear capacity by 2052, specifically through advanced technologies such as SMRs and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs), a type of reactor designed to produce very high-temperature heat, typically above 700°C.

The country is working with organizations including the IAEA and the U.S. Department of Energy to expand the know-how and infrastructure to kickstart its nuclear transition.

Jorge Cassalins, business development manager at Colombia-based heavy-lift specialist Kando Global – also a member of THLG – said the country faces some major hurdles in developing a nuclear energy supply chain.

Its success, he explained, will depend on securing a steady supply of components and services – from technology providers and system integrators to equipment makers, subcomponent suppliers and raw material producers.

Gaps in the transport system pose a significant challenge as well, with 74% of freight transport relying on roads and nearly half of the country’s 3,500-kilometer rail network inactive. “Colombia is very dependent on road transportation, and alternate options are highly desirable for nuclear energy projects,” Cassalins said.

Developing a skilled workforce is also a critical step for Colombia’s nuclear ambitions, he added, with human resource development needed long before plant construction and operations begin. Encouragingly, a new introductory course on NPPs and emerging technologies is being developed at one of the country’s top universities.

“We are taking the first baby steps towards nuclear energy academics, but we do need more sturdy and skilled university programs,” he said.

In Colombia and other countries across the region – particularly those without prior nuclear experience – closing these gaps will be crucial to unlocking development.

Worldwide, the WNA has estimated a mouthwatering US$2 trillion investment opportunity for the global nuclear supply chain over the next 15 years. “I think Latin America will account for quite a small segment of that,” said Henry Preston, media and communications manager at the WNA. “But there’s still a massive opportunity.”

Rowners and Kando Global will be exhibiting with THLG at Breakbulk Americas 2025. Be part of our 35th anniversary event taking place on 30 Sep - 2 Oct in Houston.

Top photo: A steam generator built by IMPSA was delivered to Argentina's Embalse NPP. Credit: CNEA