March 30, 2017, Pickering, Ontario. – The Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI) in cooperation with Nuclear Metallurgical Commission of the Association of Metallurgical Industries of Argentina (ADIMRA) led a “Technology Linkage Trade Mission” of ten Canadian nuclear companies to Argentina in the week of March 13 to 17, 2017. The trade mission included meetings and site visits to nine leading Argentine industrial companies, all members of ADIMRA, and was supported by Global Affairs Canada, the Embassy of Canada in Argentina and the Ontario Ministry of International Trade. OCNI and ADIMRA signed a Cooperation Agreement on November 12, 2015 in Brampton, Ontario at the conclusion of the first “Technology Linkage Trade Mission” when eight Argentine companies visited Canada to explore collaboration opportunities with Canadian CANDU equipment suppliers in providing specialized equipment and services for the next CANDU reactor to be built in Argentina (IVNPP).

The Canadian delegation also met with INVAP S.E., a key player in multipurpose research, radioisotope production and training reactor’s market, and interacted with key government officials of the Undersecretariat for Nuclear Energy, the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and Nucleoelectrica Argentina S.A (NA-SA), the owner/operator of the planned CANDU nuclear power plant at the Atucha Nuclear Complex of NA-SA’s site in the district of Zárate, about 110 kilometres from Buenos Aires.

The Canadian companies on this mission were seeking strategic Argentine partners through which their innovative CANDU-related technologies and manufacturing capabilities to nuclear grade quality standards can be effectively utilized to ensure successful development of the Atucha III CANDU project with significant Argentine content. The Atucha III plant is a $6 billion CANDU project financed largely by China under a national sovereign loan and will be the first CANDU new build since Cernavoda Unit 2 came on line in 2007.

“All of the Canadian suppliers on the mission shared a common interest in working with Argentine partners in building local nuclear manufacturing capability to ensure that the next CANDU project in Argentina is completed on time and on budget with the highest quality standards”, said OCNI President and CEO Dr. Ron Oberth.

“This new mission of technological and industrial linkage between ADIMRA associates and OCNI members strengthens the possibilities of making Atucha III Nuclear Power Plant construction a high localization model of electromechanical components for Argentinian metallurgical industry. The two ends of the American Continent join together to enable the local supply of Atucha III”, said ADIMRA President Ing. Gerardo Venutolo.

Planning for the Atucha III CANDU project is well advanced through negotiations among the Argentine Government, NA-SA, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), and SNC-Lavalin on the final allocation of project responsibilities. NA-SA and CNNC are close to an agreement on the financial structure for the project with SNC-Lavalin as the main reactor contractor to NA-SA.

The Trade Mission was partially funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC)’s Global Commerce Support Program: “Global Opportunities for Associations” (GOA).



ADIMRA President Ing. Gerardo Venutolo, OCNI President Ron Oberth, and ADIMRA Metallurgical Nuclear Commission President Ricardo Bernal Castro deliver remarks during the “Technology Linkage Trade Mission” Opening Ceremony at the ADIMRA Office on March 13, 2017.





Canadian delegation at the Canadian Embassy in Buenos Aires with Canadian Ambassador Robert Fry (center), NA-SA President Rubén Omar Semmoloni (front row sixth from right), CNEA President Osvaldo Calzetta Larrieu (back row third from right), and ADIMRA’s Nuclear Commission Coordinator Ricardo De Dicco (front row 11th from right), after the reception on March 14, 2017.

The Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI) is an association of more than 200 suppliers to the nuclear industry in Canada and around the world. OCNI companies employ more than 12,000 nuclear specialists who design reactors, manufacture major equipment and components, and provide engineering services and support to CANDU nuclear power plants in Canada as well as to CANDU and Light Water Reactor (LWR) plants in offshore markets.

The Association of Metallurgical Industries of Argentina (ADIMRA) is an association of more than 25,000 metallurgical companies including a nuclear section of 160 companies that are actively working to maximize local content for the next CANDU reactor in Argentina to be constructed at the Nuclear Atucha Complex, 120 km distant from Buenos Aires City.

Contact:
Dr. Ron Oberth, President and CEO, OCNI
905 839 -0073 or 647 407 6081, ron.oberth@ocni.ca
www.ocni.ca
Ricardo De Dicco, Coordinator, Metallurgical Nuclear Commission, ADIMRA
(54 11) 4371-0055, rdedicco@adimra.org.ar
www.adimra.org.ar