Antecedents and perspectives on the development of nuclear energy in Chile

Abstract

A review of activities and future prospects of nuclear energy in Chile is presented. It shows that the development of this sector is closely linked to the history of the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, CCHEN, established in 1965. We can distinguish three stages in its development: the installation, culminating at the beginning of 1974 with the La Reina experimental nuclear reactor went critical. Then a phase of consolidation, which reduces the activity of scientific research and stresses the application, between the years 1974 and the end of the eighties, and finally the last twenty years, a stage of continuity marked by a loss of importance and leadership of the institution at the national level, despite having important specific initiatives in the 2000s, such as the successful development of fuel elements, the installation of a cyclotron that allows the execution of PET diagnosis for the first time in the country and the consolidation of a research laboratory on plasma and nuclear fusion. At present there is a consensus that nuclear sector in Chile needs to be placed in accordance with the development experienced by the country, and therefore requires a profound restructuring of the CCHEN, reviewing its vision, mission and work program. Here is a proposal in this regard.