Brazil and Russia preparing to develop SMR options

Thursday, 15 May 2025

The comments came after the minister accompanied Brazil's President Lula to Moscow where the leader held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Silveira told Brazilian newspaper Estadao that Russia's Rosatom was to "begin engaging with the Brazilian government shortly so we can move toward the development of small nuclear reactors, which will be vital for our energy future".

In statements after the two presidents' talks, cooperation was stressed by both sides in a range of areas but "above all, on energy".

There is already cooperation between the two countries on nuclear energy, with Russia supplying the enriched uranium requirements of the Angra nuclear power plant, and in July 2024, according to Rosatom, the potential of floating small nuclear reactor (SMR) power stations was being considered by Brazil. In December 2024, according to Russia's Tass news agency, the Russian Embassy in Brazil said a working group would establish details of cooperation in the nuclear sphere by the end of 2025.

During his visit to Russia, Silveira also held talks with Rosatom subsidiary Tenex, posting a message on Facebook saying: "The aim of our meeting was to establish partnerships to both increase Brazilian uranium production and expand cooperation in the nuclear sector, which is becoming increasingly essential for the country’s energy security and for the progressive decarbonisation of our economy."

Brazil currently has two operating reactors - Angra 1 and Angra 2 - which generate about 3% of the country’s electricity. Work on the Angra 3 project - to feature a Siemens/KWU 1405 MW pressurised water reactor - began in 1984 but was suspended two years later, before construction began. The scheme was resurrected in 2006, with first concrete in 2010. However, amid a corruption probe into government contracts, construction of the unit was halted for a second time in 2015, when it was 65% complete. It has since restarted and been halted again, with a decision currently awaited on completing it.

Russia has developed land-based and floating nuclear power plant designs powered by SMRs. The state corporation is currently in the early stages of a project in Uzbekistan which will feature six of its RITM-200N water-cooled reactors, which has been adapted from nuclear-powered icebreakers' technology. That is the first export order for Russia's SMR - the first land-based version currently being built in Yakut in Russia with a target launch of 2027 for the first unit.