Atoms for Industry: The Early Nuclear Activities of Fiat and the Atoms for Peace Program in Italy, 1956–1959

Abstract Fiat's nuclear activities began in the immediate postwar period, when the company financed initiatives meant to reconstruct applied and theoretical research on nuclear physics in Italy. However, its actual industrial involvement originated in the framework of the Atoms for Peace initiative, which provided the opportunity for the purchase of an American Machine and Foundry pool-type reactor for a research center founded by Società Ricerche Impianti Nucleari (SORIN), a joint-venture created in 1956 by Fiat and the Italian chemical company Montecatini. SORIN developed know-how and technology in the electromechanical and biomedical industries. The SORIN center was the first private initiative within the Atoms for Peace framework. This article is a first attempt to assess Fiat's involvement in the nuclear sector, shedding light on the reception of Atoms for Peace in Italy and the way various actors on the Italian nuclear scene used it to pursue their own objectives during the Cold War.