After years of planning, infrastructure work has started on the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB – Reator Multipropósito Brasileiro) project in Ipero (Sorocaba, Sao Paulo).
The RMB will be a 30 MWt open-pool research reactor, similar to Argentina’s RA-10 multipurpose reactor currently under construction with operation scheduled in the next year or two. Invap signed the agreement in 2013 to build the two research reactors – one in each country – with the reference design to be the Open Pool Australian Light-water (Opal) research reactor that Invap supplied to the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation.
The RMB will be part of largest nuclear technology centre in Brazil. It will be built adjacent to the Aramar Experimental Centre, where the prototype of the Brazilian nuclear submarine is already installed. In addition to the reactor and all the infrastructure, there will be laboratories for the study of nuclear fusion, particle accelerators, high-power lasers and laboratories for the development and production of radiopharmaceuticals. The cost has been estimated at $500m with a construction timeline estimated at five years.
The ceremony was attended by Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation Luciana Barbosa de Oliveira Santos; the President of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN – Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear), Francisco Rondinelli Junior; RMB Management Coordinator Gabriela Borsatto; and the technical coordinators of the project, Jose Augusto Perrotta and Patricia Pagetti.
Science Minister Santos said the RMB will ensure essential infrastructure for the development of the nuclear sector. “We will have one of the most important Brazilian research centres for applications of nuclear technology for the benefit of society, and this is a source of pride for all of us”, she added.
CNEN President Rondinelli Junior said the RMB “will transform nuclear medicine in Brazil and in the world, given its production and development capacity, directly benefiting society”.
The RMB will expand research and innovation capacity and strengthening the national infrastructure of the nuclear sector. Its applications cover several areas, with significant impact on health, industry, agriculture and the environment. The RMB will ensure the Brazil’s self-sufficiency in the production of molybdenum-99 used in medical diagnostics and enable the production of other radioisotopes.
It will support the development of nuclear fuels and materials used in reactors, allowing the qualification of fuels for nuclear propulsion, reactors, NPPs and new technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMRs). In the field of scientific research, RMB will enable the use of neutron beams for various applications, such as advanced neutron activation analysis, development of new materials and studies in nanotechnology and structural biology.
For the first time, science and technology projects were included in the Growth Acceleration Programme (New CAP), indicating the strategic importance of the RMB. The Science Ministry is expected to invest BRL926m ($160m) in the project by 2026, with resources from the National Fund for Scientific & Technological Development (FNDCT – Fundo Nacional do Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico).
The RMB is a Science Ministry project coordinated by CNEN, with resources from the Financier of Studies & Projects (FINEP – Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos). National and international collaborating institutions include the PATRIA Foundation, Amazul (Brazilian Navy), Invap (Argentina), Intertechne (Brazil), Walm, Tractebel and, more recently, Schunck (Brazil).
RMB’s development was led by the Institute for Energy & Nuclear Research (IPEN – Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares), CNEN’s unit in Sao Paulo co-ordinated by Jose Augusto Perrotta. The project was supported by other CNEN units, including the Institute of Nuclear Engineering (IEN – Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear) and the Institute of Radioprotection & Dosimetry (IRD – Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria) in Rio de Janeiro; the Centre for Nuclear Technology Development (CDTN – Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear) in Belo Horizonte; and the Regional Centre for Nuclear Sciences of the Northeast (CRCN-NE – Centro Regional de Ciências Nucleares do Nordeste) in Recife.
“This is something that we, from CNEN and the nuclear community, have been awaiting for a long time. We are experiencing a historic moment for the Brazilian nuclear sector”, said Rondinelli Junior.
