NANO Nuclear Energy signs three-year engineering agreement with IMPSA to develop KRONOS MMR components
NANO Nuclear Energy has signed a three-year engineering agreement with the U.S. subsidiary of IMPSA, an Argentine heavy-manufacturing firm, to push forward development of critical components for its KRONOS MMR™ micro modular reactor. The deal, announced October 21, pairs NANO’s next-generation reactor design with a company that holds ASME N-Stamp nuclear certification — one of the few in Latin America qualified to engineer and fabricate Class 1 heavy nuclear components.
Agreement details and scope
The Engineering Services Master Agreement runs three years and builds a structured framework for NANO Nuclear to tap IMPSA’s capabilities across several specialized disciplines. Those include nuclear pressure vessel engineering, ASME Section III manufacturing, welding, non-destructive examination, quality assurance, and heavy-component fabrication — all directly relevant to taking a micro modular reactor from design to production.
The reactor pressure vessel is the main component IMPSA will evaluate under the deal. Reactor cavity cooling systems, spent-fuel storage systems, and various reactor and transportation components have also been flagged by both companies as potential areas of collaboration.
That certification qualifies the company to engineer and fabricate Class 1 heavy nuclear components, and it’s a central reason NANO Nuclear chose this partner.
IMPSA holds both ASME N and ASME III N stamps — a credential that’s uncommon even globally, let alone in Latin America. That certification qualifies the company to engineer and fabricate Class 1 heavy nuclear components, and it’s a central reason NANO Nuclear chose this partner. The agreement itself is non-exclusive.
Initial engineering and manufacturability program
Work under the ESMA kicks off with a focused six-month study: the KRONOS MMR™ Design Review and Assessment — Engineering Consulting and Manufacturability Feasibility Study. A retainer supports this initial phase. The goal is straightforward — bring real manufacturing expertise into the design process before the project gets further down the road.
IMPSA will independently review KRONOS MMR™ components against ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section III requirements, drawing on its prior experience engineering and fabricating nuclear pressure vessels to assess how well the current design holds up.
The program is structured specifically to surface problems early. Fabrication constraints, inspection limitations, accessibility issues, supply-chain risks — catching those now gives NANO Nuclear a chance to make design adjustments before they become expensive fixes rather than manageable ones.
Depending on what NANO Nuclear needs, the work may extend beyond the feasibility study to include detailed engineering and fabrication drawings, code-compliant calculations, and 3D models. Those deliverables could become important building blocks as the KRONOS MMR™ moves closer to manufacturing readiness.
Why the partnership was formed
NANO Nuclear has been building toward an integrated industrial model — one that spans reactor engineering, fuel, manufacturing, transportation, and project execution. The IMPSA relationship fits that strategy directly. As NANO founder and chairman Jay Jiang Yu put it, the partnership “can strengthen several of those areas at the same time while establishing an important industrial relationship between the United States and Argentina.”
IMPSA brings more than four decades of nuclear engineering and manufacturing experience, with particular depth in nuclear pressure vessels and ASME Section III fabrication. That’s not a generic manufacturing background. It’s specialized expertise in exactly the kind of heavy, code-regulated components a reactor like KRONOS MMR™ requires.
CEO James Walker framed the timing clearly. “Having that manufacturing knowledge applied to KRONOS at this stage is expected to identify constraints earlier, strengthen the design-for-manufacture process and build a much more direct pathway toward future component production.” The logic holds: the earlier a manufacturing problem surfaces, the cheaper and easier it is to resolve.
Conditions and next steps for future fabrication
The agreement is careful about what it promises and what it doesn’t. Any future component fabrication, regional projects, or other commercial activities beyond the initial engineering services remain contingent on the results of the engineering work and applicable regulatory requirements — additional work orders or definitive agreements would be required before manufacturing actually moves forward.
Think of the ESMA as a starting point, not a production commitment. The six-month feasibility study will shape whatever comes next.
IMPSA president Jorge Salcedo Hernández described the deal as a strategic opportunity for both his company and Argentina’s nuclear sector more broadly. “With decades of experience manufacturing pressure vessels under ASME N-Stamp certification, IMPSA has established itself as one of the few suppliers capable of assessing the manufacturability of nuclear components at an early stage,” he said. His stated goal: help NANO Nuclear accelerate the KRONOS MMR™ manufacturing process toward “safer and more efficient nuclear systems.”
What this agreement means for KRONOS MMR™ development
At its core, this deal is about closing the gap between reactor design and reactor production. NANO Nuclear Energy has signed a three-year ESMA with IMPSA’s U.S. subsidiary to bring certified nuclear manufacturing expertise into the KRONOS MMR™ development process early — before design decisions harden into costly mistakes. The initial six-month engineering and manufacturability study will focus on the reactor pressure vessel and potentially extend to cooling, storage, and transportation components. Any move toward actual fabrication depends on what that study finds, and on regulatory sign-off. For now, the partnership gives NANO Nuclear access to one of Latin America’s few ASME N-Stamp certified manufacturers, with the explicit aim of building a clearer, more direct path from design to production.
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