General information

Romania can be considered among the pioneers of the nuclear field at international level, the peaceful uses of the nuclear energy being the object of research activities since the ‘50s.

“Physics Institute of the Romanian Academy” was founded in Bucharest in September 1949.

In 1956, the first VVRS fission type reactor and a U120 cyclotron, both of Soviet production, were put into operation.

In 1957, Romania, along with other 80 countries, was part of the founding members of the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA was set up in order to supervise the use of nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful purposes.

In the following years, with the special contribution of the outstanding scientific personalities in the field, Alexandru Proca, Horia Hulubei, Serban Titeica, Ioan Ursu, nuclear energy applications have diversified, giving significant weight to the field.

If until 1996, the applications of nuclear energy focused on research and medical activities, after 1996, Romania started to benefit also from power applications, through the commissioning of Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant.