Atucha nuclear power plant 2
Gross capacity
745MW
Atucha nuclear power plant 2 is a pressurised heavy water reactor unit at Atucha nuclear power plant in Argentina rated at 745 MW gross. It is operating. Commercial operation began 25 May 2016.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | PHWR KWU |
| Size | Largeabove 300 MWe |
| Coolant | Heavy water |
| Moderator | Heavy water |
| Gross capacity | 745MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 693MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 692MW |
| Thermal output | 2,160MWt |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Atucha nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 2 |
| Country | Argentina |
| Owner | Nucleoelectrica Argentina SA100% |
| Operator | Nucleoelectrica Argentina |
| Coordinates | -33.9672, -59.2073 |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Natural uranium dioxide bundles
Enrichment
Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 no enrichment required
Who makes this assembly
- BWX Technologies CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- Cameco Corporation CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- China North Nuclear Fuel Company CANDU fuel bundles
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel CANDU fuel bundles
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India PHWR fuel bundles, natural uranium
Upstream
This unit runs on natural uranium, so its fuel chain has no enrichment step at all: mine → mill → conversion → fabrication. That is the shortest fuel chain of any commercial reactor type, and it makes the operator independent of the four organisations that control enrichment worldwide.
Fabricator capability is recorded against reactor type and model line, not against named units,
utilities do not publish fuel contracts. See the fuel chain.
Timeline
- 13 Jul 1981Construction start
- 2 Jun 2014First criticality
- 24 Jun 2014Grid connection
- 25 May 2016Commercial operation
Other units at Atucha nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Atucha nuclear power plant 1 | 362 | |
| Atucha nuclear power plant 3 | Shelved | 1,150 |
| Atucha nuclear power plant SMR 1 | Announced | 300 |
| Atucha nuclear power plant SMR 2 | Announced | 300 |
| Atucha nuclear power plant SMR 3 | Announced | 300 |
| Atucha nuclear power plant SMR 4 | Announced | 300 |
Other PHWR KWU units
2 units worldwide share this model designation.
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atucha nuclear power plant 1 | Argentina | 362 |
Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06 · this unit last researched by GEM on 2024-05-22
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data