Report published in Magazine Canal Solar – Vol. 6, No. 7, December/2025
With support from Finep and determination from Diamante Energia, the Jorge Lacerda Complex, powered by coal, is embarking on an unprecedented journey, becoming the setting for the development laboratory of the first Brazilian nuclear microreactor.
After decades of prominence limited to the Angra nuclear power plants and the Navy's nuclear program, Brazil is entering a new technological cycle that could reshape its energy sovereignty.
At the heart of this movement is Diamante Energia, owner of the Jorge Lacerda Thermoelectric Complex in Santa Catarina. The company is currently leading one of the most ambitious initiatives in the national nuclear sector, transforming part of the infrastructure inherited from the coal era into an innovation center focused on developing the first nuclear power plant. nuclear microreactor (MRN) designed to operate in Brazil.
The initiative stems from a context that is simultaneously technological and economic. The planned end of coal-fired thermal power plant operations, scheduled for 2040, has opened the way for a profound reflection on the future of the 3 million square meters encompassed by the complex.
With logistical access, transmission capacity, water reservoirs, existing substations, and an experienced workforce, the site possesses characteristics uncommon in the country. In other words, it is a platform ready to receive high-value-added technologies, such as modular reactors.
This perspective is reinforced by public statements from Diamante Energia itself, which sees the energy transition as a chance to reindustrialize the region and attract highly skilled jobs.
This arrangement includes two subsidiaries created by the group: Terminus, created to develop microreactors, and Núcleo Brasil Energia Participações (NBEpar), which became the majority shareholder of Terminus in 2025.
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