The Global Energy Association congratulates our good friends and partners in developing international cooperation in science and energy technologies – the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN) in Brazil – on its 70th anniversary.
One of the key centres for developing nuclear studies and technologies in Latin America was founded on August 31, 1956 under the name of the Nuclear Energy Institute. As early as 1957, the Institute launched IEA-R1 – the first nuclear research reactor in the Southern Hemisphere. During the following decades, the Institute expanded its activities by developing the production of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, nuclear fuel technologies and other areas of peaceful applications of nuclear energy.
Today, Brazil’s IPEN employs 486 people full-time and 443 outsourced specialists. 90 researchers with doctoral degrees participate in training master’s and doctoral students. Every year, specialists from the Institute publish about 250 academic papers in international peer-reviewed journals. Together with the University of São Paulo (USP), the Institute also trains specialists in nuclear technologies.
Sofia Morgan, Director for International Cooperation of the Global Energy Association, participated in the ceremonial events marking the 70th anniversary of Brazil’s IPEN. The Institute and the Association have long-standing ties. Isolda Costa, Superintendent of Brazil’s IPEN, received an Honorary Diploma of the Global Energy Association in 2024 for her contribution to the development of international energy dialogue. Sergey Brilev, President of the Global Energy Association, presented the award to her on the sidelines of the ATOMEXPO international forum in Sochi.
In February 2026, Isolda Costa also participated in the Regional to Global international conference organised by the Global Energy Association in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Together with experts and delegates from Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Russia, the United States, Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador, including representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean Energy Organization (OLACDE), she participated in discussing the prospects for the energy transition in the region.
Another joint project was the documentary “Samba. Rumba. Tango. Atom” by Sergey Brilev, dedicated to the development of nuclear technologies in Latin American countries. With the assistance of Brazil’s IPEN, the film was shot at the Institute’s research facilities, including the IEA-R1 research reactor. The documentary speaks about the development of peaceful nuclear technologies in the region and about the cooperation between Latin America and Russia in this sphere.
“Over the past 70 years, Brazil’s IPEN has come a long way from an institute established in the early days of Brazil’s nuclear programme to a major research centre known far beyond the national borders. It is of special value for the Global Energy Association that we are connected with Brazil’s IPEN, and with Isolda Costa personally, not only by professional links, but also by enduring friendship. I wish our Brazilian colleagues new scientific achievements and many more decades of successful work,” Sergey Brilev, President of the Global Energy Association, remarked.
