The first ideas on the project were presented in 1984 during a conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on medium and small reactors, held in Lima, Peru.

The continuity of the project was certainly affected by the economic circumstances experienced in Argentina and by the different policies implemented in the sector, which saw periods of minimum activity due to budget restrictions or even suspension.

The design was reviewed in several opportunities, one of the most significant being held in August 1999 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., leading company in power reactor engineering and construction. The company evaluated the proposed innovative reactor concept as viable and the design progress state as satisfactory, also considering that "the CAREM reactor is one of the most promising ones within the field of small nuclear power reactors, while the construction and operation of the prototype will help opening a significant market for its commercialization."

Recent publications show the advantages in the use of small reactors to generate electricity, concluding that there are sufficient reasons to be optimistic, since the degree of progress reached in the different Small Modular Reactor projects indicates that these may be available for commercial use before the end of the present decade.