Engineers and Scientists as Commercial Agents of the Spanish Nuclear Programme

Abstract

Within the framework of the Cold War, the military and civil uses of the atom became the largest technological, socio-political and economic impact on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The unique nature of the technological, financial and managerial decisions about the civil uses of nuclear power granted a leading role to engineers and scientists employed

Nuclear engineering and technology transfer: The Spanish strategies to deal with US, french and german nuclear manufacturers, 1955–1985

“…Engineers by training, they led each project by taking on the multi-purpose functions of managers at the highest levels of management and administration. The CEO had to establish political and institutional contacts with national and international governments and nuclear energy entities, negotiate the commercial and financial aspects of the contract (responsible for heavy equipment and fuel purchases, and securing bank loans), and sometimes participate in the design and supervision of plant logistics (De la Torre et al, 2018). These engineers periodically visited foreign nuclear agencies and laboratories; received management training; toured nuclear component factories; participated in trade fairs and academic events; dealt with heads of state, ministers, bankers and multinational directors; evangelized for the new era of nuclear energy; and sat on the boards of other companies.…”