The company Nano Energy presented a private initiative to the Ministry of Economy to invest more than 230 million dollars in the completion of the New Uranium Plant (NPU) of Dioxitek S.A. in Formosa. This project arises from a process initiated last August, when Dioxitek and the US firm signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate technical capabilities and opportunities in the Argentine nuclear sector. The agreement was finalized during Argentina Week, an event organized in New York by the Secretariat of Nuclear Affairs and the Argentine Consulate, with the participation of representatives of the national atomic sector. The initiative contemplates two central stages. The first includes the completion, commissioning, and operation of the NPU-1 facility to produce uranium dioxide (UO₂), with infrastructure adaptation, equipment incorporation, and compliance with national and international regulatory standards. The second milestone foresees the construction and operation of a complementary facility to convert UO₂ into uranium hexafluoride (UF₆), a key input for nuclear enrichment with growing demand in the global market. If materialized, the country will be able to produce fuel to supply the Atucha I, Atucha II, and Embalse nuclear power plants, with an estimated capacity of 210 tons per year, in addition to entering the international UF₆ market. The scheme provides for Dioxitek to maintain ownership of the plant and land, granting its use to a new company through a usufruct, while Nano Energy provides the capital and participates in production, without the state company divesting its assets. The NPU was designed in 2006 and its construction began in 2014, with limited progress under different administrations. The current administration redefined the project with a commercial focus, with the intervention of Federico Ramos Napoli, first at the head of Dioxitek and then as Secretary of Nuclear Affairs. From the official environment, it was highlighted that the initiative is supported by macroeconomic conditions and the efforts of the national government to attract strategic investments to the sector.
