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Aleksey Likhachev, the Director-General of Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, and Ajit Kumar Mohanty, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India, have discussed expanding cooperation in nuclear energy in India, according to Rosatom. Likhachev and Mohanty, held talks during a Russian nuclear site visit in Seversk, Tomsk Region on Thursday (May 23).
During the visit, Rosatom showcased the Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex to its Indian partners. This complex is being developed under the ‘Proryv’ (Breakthrough) project, which aims to establish a new technological platform for a closed nuclear fuel cycle and address the challenges of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.
The goal is to create a competitive product that will ensure the leadership of Russian technologies in the global nuclear power industry, according to Rosatom. “We are ready for serious expansion of the cooperation with India in the field of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” Likhachev said.
According to him, this includes the construction of Russian-designed high-capacity nuclear power units at a new site in India, as well as implementing land-based and floating low-power generation projects.
The two countries are also discussing cooperation in nuclear fuel cycles, as well as the non-power applications of nuclear technologies, the Rosatom chief said.
The officials also discussed the progress of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), which is being built in Tamil Nadu, southern India. The KNPP is India’s largest nuclear power plant, and includes six power units equipped with light-water reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 MW.
The first two units were connected to the national grid in 2013 and 2016 respectively, and currently supply power to the southern Indian region. The four remaining units are at different stages of construction and equipment fitting.
In December last year, during a visit of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to Moscow, the countries signed agreements to move forward on implementing the fifth and sixth reactors for the Kudankulam project. Jaishankar recently noted at a press conference in Mumbai that India is looking at “additional sites for Russian reactors.”
Likhachev said Russia has been extensively sharing the latest technological advancements in the nuclear field with India. The two nations are also working together on projects in third countries – Rosatom and Indian companies have been engaged in the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh.
The plant, which is around 140km west of Dhaka, is Bangladesh’s biggest infrastructure project to date and a vital part of plans to move away from coal and other fossil fuels. Moscow and Dhaka have signed several intergovernmental credit agreements worth around US$12 billion for financing the project.
Further Reading
Russia-India 2024 Trade & Development
Russia’s trade and development with India is extensively covered in our 2024 Russia’s Pivot To Asia Guide, which is a complimentary download and can be accessed in English here and Russian here.
