Portuguese 
Joesley and Wesley Batista visited the Nuclep facility in Itaguaí during the same week that the state-owned company delivered torpedo piles to Petrobras, spending the afternoon reviewing the nuclear program projects that determine the future of Angra 3.
The visit took place in the first week of September and was reported by Petronotícias on September 5.
The two businessmen from the J&F group were received for an institutional meeting at the company’s manufacturing facilities on the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
What they came to see is not just a corporate agenda detail.
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Nuclep is the only domestic manufacturer of heavy components for reactors, and Itaguaí houses the presses, gantries, and warehouses capable of handling pieces weighing hundreds of tons.
The visit comes after Âmbar acquired a stake in Eletronuclear
The meeting occurs in a new context for the Brazilian nuclear sector. Âmbar Energia, a company from the same J&F group, has entered the capital of Eletronuclear.
Eletronuclear is responsible for the Angra plants and remains under the control of ENBPar, the state company created to hold assets that were excluded from the privatization of Eletrobras.
In other words, the group has entered as a partner, not as a controller. This distinction is significant when discussing a project as large as Angra 3.
Nuclep exists because of the nuclear program
The company is not just any metallurgical firm that decided to serve the sector. It was specifically created to serve the Brazilian Nuclear Program.
According to Petronotícias, Nuclep has a historical relationship with Eletronuclear and participated in manufacturing equipment destined for the Angra plants.
It is the kind of industrial capacity that the country takes decades to build and loses in just a few years of idleness.
Qualified welding for nuclear pressure vessels, for example, requires certification, training, and continuous practice. When the orders disappear, welders migrate, and recovering that workforce takes time that no schedule can accommodate.
“We are prepared to contribute to your current and future demands”
The company’s president, Adeilson Telles, summed up the purpose of the meeting plainly.
“The institutional approach is essential for us to expand dialogue and present the technological and industrial capacity that NUCLEP puts at the disposal of the Brazilian nuclear sector. We have a historical relationship with the Angra plants and we are prepared to contribute to your current and future demands,” he stated.
Translated: the state enterprise is offering to manufacture the equipment if the project moves forward.
It’s a position that is both comfortable and fragile. Comfortable, because there is no equivalent national competitor. Fragile, because the company relies on a decision that is not in its hands.
The same week as the torpedo piles delivered to Petrobras
The timing says a lot about the company’s situation.
Nuclep closed the first week of September with advancements across its main fronts, including the delivery of torpedo piles to Petrobras, equipment used to anchor platforms on the seabed.
It’s the same heavy metalworking capacity that serves both the oil and nuclear sectors. The company alternates between the two when one of them cools down.
A delegation from the Navy was also on site
In addition to the business leaders, a delegation from the Brazilian Navy accompanied the agenda at the factory.
The presence makes sense: the Navy is another major demand for the national heavy fabrication industry, with its submarine program and nuclear propulsion development underway.
Thus, three potential clients were represented in the same warehouse: oil, civil nuclear, and naval defense.
This triad explains why Nuclep survives. When the nuclear sector stalls, offshore projects sustain the factory; when offshore slows down, the Navy’s program occupies the installed capacity.
What the visit does not signify
Here, it’s worth holding back on interpretation, as the topic often generates headlines beyond what the facts support.
There was no announcement of contracts, values, timelines, or decisions regarding the resumption of Angra 3. The source itself describes the meeting as an institutional visit to showcase the manufacturing infrastructure and enhance dialogue.
No one signed anything.
Why Angra 3 remains the topic
The third plant of the Angra dos Reis complex is the longest-standing open infrastructure project in the country, and each corporate move in Eletronuclear reignites the discussion about whether to complete it or not.
The reckoning involves what has already been spent, what remains to be spent, and who takes on the risk. This is not simply a single-company decision, but one that involves the government, agency, and stakeholders.
While the definition remains pending, the construction site continues to stand still, and the cost of keeping the project dormant keeps accumulating, generating not a single megawatt.
We have been following this deadlock for so long that any technical visit becomes a signal. It’s advisable to treat it as a signal, not as a decision.
The mood in the sector, by the way, is not the calmest: on September 1st, workers at Eletronuclear began an indefinite strike.
For the reader following the sector, the key takeaway is different: Nuclep is active, with a recent delivery to Petrobras and an open agenda with a new partner from Eletronuclear and with the Navy.
A state-owned heavy construction company with a full order book is better news than any promise about Angra 3, as it signifies industrial jobs currently available in Itaguaí, not in 2032.
It is worth noting that only one media outlet has covered the visit so far, and all the data above comes from that investigation, published by Petronotícias.
What do you think: should Brazil finish Angra 3 or accept that the money already spent has turned into a loss?
