INVAP
Encyclopedia
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
high-technology
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
company dedicated to the design, integration, construction and delivery of high complexity equipment, plants and devices.
Background
INVAP has customers in more than 30 countries across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. INVAP delivers tailor-made projects for nuclear, aerospace, chemical, medical, petroleum and governmental sectors.INVAP was created in 1976, as a spin off of the Argentinean Atomic Energy Commission
National Atomic Energy Commission
The National Atomic Energy Commission is the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development.The agency was created on May 31, 1950 with the mission of developing and controlling nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in the country.CNEA's facilities include the...
, research laboratories division. The company is an unlisted private company, the sole owner being the Province of Río Negro
Río Negro Province
Río Negro is a province of Argentina, located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.Its capital is Viedma...
. It is headquartered in San Carlos de Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche, is a city in the , situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake and is located inside Nahuel Huapi National Park...
, however its personnel are distributed around the world.
As of 2008, INVAP directly employs 600 people and up to 700 indirectly, when contractors, associated firms and suppliers are taken into consideration.
Satellites
INVAP is the only company in Latin America certified by NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
(the US (National) Aeronautics and Space Administration) to supply space technologies. INVAP has shown its proficiency as a constructor of satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s, payloads, and ground stations; this is evidenced by the SAC ("Satelites de Aplicación Científica") satellite family, developed for the Argentine space agency CONAE
Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales
Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales is the civilian agency of the government of Argentina in charge of the national space program.- History :...
. INVAP is the only company in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
with full life cycle capabilities, from design and development through mission control and operational support.
The SAC-D
SAC-D
SAC-D , also known as Aquarius after its primary instrument, is an Argentine Earth science satellite built by INVAP and launched on June 10, 2011. It carries seven instruments to study the environment, and a technology demonstration experiment. Its primary instrument, Aquarius, was built by and...
was put into orbit on June 9th 2011, carrying several scientific payloads, including NASA's $100 million Aquarius project, which will measure ocean's salinity.
Nuclear projects
In the field of nuclear projects, the company specializes in the following areas: design and construction of nuclear research reactors, radioisotope production plants, nuclear fuel manufacturing plants, uranium enrichment facilities, neutron beam transport systems, radiation protection instrumentation, reactor protection systems, modernisation and refurbishment of research reactors. INVAP also conducts consultancy and research activities for leading nuclear power plant suppliers in areas such as nuclear reactor fuels, isotope separation by lasers and reactor core reshuffling studies for nuclear power plants.INVAP has constructed and installed the following nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
s worldwide:
| Country | Location | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria |
Algiers Algiers ' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000... |
NUR | Sold to Haut Commisariat pour la Recherche of the Algerian government. |
 Argentina |
Bariloche | RA-6 | For CNEA. |
| Argentina |
Pilcaniyeu Pilcaniyeu Pilcaniyeu is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.-References:... |
RA-8 | For CNEA. |
| Argentina |
Lima, Zárate Zárate Partido Zárate Partido is a partido of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 101,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Zárate, which is located around from Buenos Aires.-External links:... |
CAREM CAREM CAREM is an Argentine nuclear reactor designed by CNEA .- History :The reactor was first developed as a request of the Argentine Navy to power the TR-1700 submarine of German design. In 1984 it was presented publicly for the first time during an IAEA conference in Peru... |
For CNEA. |
 Australia |
Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
OPAL OPAL OPAL is a 20 megawatt pool-type nuclear research reactor that was officially opened on 20 April 2007 at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Research Establishment at Lucas Heights, located in South Sydney, Australia.The main reactor uses are:* Irradiation of target... |
Sold to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation is a statutory body of the Australian government, formed in 1987 to replace the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. Its head office and main facilities are in southern outskirts of Sydney at Lucas Heights, in the Sutherland Shire... (ANSTO). |
 Egypt |
Cairo Cairo Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life... |
ETRR-2 | Sold to the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority The Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority EAEA has been established in 1955. It leads the national research and development in the basic and applied peaceful nuclear research.... . |
 Peru |
Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima... |
RP-0 | Provision of nuclear instrumentation to the Instituto Peruano de Energía Nuclear. |
| Peru |
Huarangal | RP-10 | Provision of nuclear instrumentation to the Instituto Peruano de Energía Nuclear. |
On 2009, INVAP (teamed with Spanish group Isolux) was pre-selected in an international tender, known as the PALLAS project. This entails the procurement of a 80 MW nuclear reactor for the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
city of Petten
Petten
Petten is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe, and lies about 15 km northwest of Alkmaar, on the North Sea. The population is ca. 1900....
( see Petten nuclear reactor
Petten nuclear reactor
The Petten nuclear reactors are nuclear research reactors in Petten, Netherlands. There are two reactors on the premises of the Petten research centre: a high flux reactor and a low flux reactor....
) but on February 2010, the Dutch radiopharmaceutical producer Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG
Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group
Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group is a Dutch institute that performs nuclear research for the government and private companies. It is the most important producer of radionuclides in Europe and maintains and operates the Petten nuclear reactor....
) extended the preparatory phase up to end of the year for financing
On 2010 INVAP (teamed with CITEDEF) announced that has completed the development and ready for test a new method based on laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
to remove the radioactive components from heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
which is used to cool nuclear reactors .
Other projects commissioned
- SatelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s and space research payload for CONAE - Hangar doors for the Argentine NavyArgentine NavyThe Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
destroyer ARA HérculesARA HérculesARA Hércules is a Type 42 destroyer of the Argentine Navy or Armada de la República Argentina.She was transformed into a multi-purpose transport ship with Pennant Number B-52 and commissioned to the amphibious force in 1999.- History :... - FLIR system for Argentine Navy P-3 OrionP-3 OrionThe Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
aircraft - Systems for early detection of forest fires
- Eleven (plus 11 more in order) 2D radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
s INKAN ( ) for the Administración Nacional de Aviación CivilAdministración Nacional de Aviación CivilThe Administración Nacional de Aviación Civil is the civil aviation agency of Argentina. It has its headquarters in Buenos Aires.-External links:*...
(ANAC) the Argentine Civilian Agency in charge of air traffic control - 3D radar prototype plus 6 in order for the Argentine Air ForceArgentine Air ForceThe Argentine Air Force is the national aviation branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. , it had 14,606 military and 6,854 civilian staff.-History:...
- Maritime patrolMaritime patrolMaritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities....
simulators - Wind Power
- Dry-freeze plants, for preservation of fruits and vegetables.
- Storage solutions for irradiated nuclear fuel from NPP and Research Reactors.
- Radioisotope processing plants
- Petrochemical plants.
- A synthetic aperture radarSynthetic aperture radarSynthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...
to replaced the Bendix RDR-1500B on the maritime patrol aircraft Beechcraft Super King AirBeechcraft Super King AirThe Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...
of the Argentine Naval AviationArgentine Naval AviationThe Argentine Naval Aviation is the naval aviation branch of the Argentine Navy and one of its four operational commands...