With a progress of 65% and an investment of 690 million dollars from all Argentines, the first 100% local nuclear reactor prototype suffers critical paralysis. Water leaks, massive layoffs of scientists and the controversial shadow of foreign private capital mark the present of the project in Lima.
What used to be the vanguard of energy sovereignty in the region today accumulates water and grasslands. The reactor EMPEROR 25 (Central Argentina de Elementos Modulares), located in the town of Lima, Zárate district, is going through its worst historical crisis as a result of the budget paralysis imposed by the national government.
At the time of the management change, the civil works were 80% complete and the total project was close to 65%, with start-up projected for 2028. Today, the reality on the property is one of alarming structural deterioration and brain drain.
Water gains ground in atomic technology
The testimonies of the workers of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) describe a panorama of physical abandonment that puts at risk millionaire components already acquired:
- Structural flooding: The central steel cylinder that contains the reactor recorded the accumulation of more than 20 cubic meters of water.
- Turbines under the tarp: The building of Balance of Plant (Plant Balance), which houses the steam turbine – the most expensive piece of the development – suffered leaks of up to 7 meters of water and currently remains protected only by tarps.
- Lack of maintenance: There is no budget allocated for bilge pumps or for basic weeding of the property.
“Brain drain” with a private destination
Beyond iron and concrete, the greatest damage is recorded in human capital. The CNEA recently suffered dozens of layoffs — 35 of them directly involved in CAREM conservation tasks.
Along with the salary shortage of the professionals who remain in the laboratories, a massive exodus of highly qualified project directors, process managers and civil and nuclear engineering teams to the private sector is reported. In particular, it points to the landing of the firm Meitner Energy —a company linked to North American and Iranian capital—, which opened offices in Buenos Aires and Bariloche, absorbing middle managers and technicians trained for decades by the Argentine State under promises of vastly higher salaries.
An internal order under the magnifying glass: Is the auction coming?
The concern of the scientific community escalated after learning of an internal directive from the Presidency of the CNEA that explicitly authorizes the visit of national or foreign «interested parties» to survey assets under the orbit of the institution in order to develop potential Private Initiatives.
The memo details that the delegations can access facilities, associated technical documentation and key infrastructure. Workers from different headquarters reported that business delegations are already visiting laboratories and highly confidential areas, such as the control mechanisms of the nuclear fuel cycle at the Ezeiza Atomic Center. Added to this scenario is a precedent that raises suspicions: a massive hack that affected the CNEA’s computer systems at the end of last year, exposing confidential engineering information from the reactor.
With the paralysis of CAREM, along with other flagship projects such as the RA10 multipurpose reactor, Argentina risks its historical position in the select group of eight countries in the world capable of autonomously completing the uranium cycle, transforming a pole of development and future income into a deserted and guarded area.
