Russia, India Looking At Nuclear Energy Joint Ventures and Additional Nuclear Power Plants

India’s Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), is considering forming a joint venture with Rosatom for manufacturing nuclear fuel in the country to boost its nuclear capability. Russia is already helping build the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in southern India, set to be the largest atomic power plant in the country. That NPP is being built by NPCIL and Atomstroyexport, Russia’s nuclear power equipment and service exporter.

New Delhi is working out a deal with Moscow for the supply of nuclear fuel and core components for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, according to the Times of India. The deal is estimated at 105 billion rupees (US$1.2 billion). The Kudankulam NPP currently has two operational units, each with a capacity of 1,000 MW, and is the main power provider for the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on India’s southeast coast.

The plant’s first two units entered service in 2013 and 2016. Units 3 and 4 are currently under construction. Agreements for the final two units, 5 and 6, were signed last December when Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Moscow. Once completed, the plant will be the largest nuclear power plant in India with a capacity of 6,000 MW.

According to the deal for nuclear fuel supplies, TVEL, the fuel company of Russia’s state-run Rosatom, will be supplying fuel, control rods, and a fuel assembly inspection tool for units 3 and 4 of the plant from 2025 to 2033.

The two countries have been working together in the nuclear industry for several decades. A joint statement issued by Moscow and New Delhi during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Russian capital in July stated the two countries would expand cooperation in the nuclear energy sector. Prior to Modi’s visit to Moscow, senior Indian officials suggested that India could strike a major deal with Russia to provide uranium on a long-term basis.

While Indian leader was in Moscow, Rosatom also announced that the two countries are in talks to build six new Russian-designed high-capacity nuclear power units at another site in India.

Russia is also offering India new technology – small modular reactors with a generating capacity of around 100-200MW. Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev presented the technology to Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during Modi’s visit. According to Likhachev, Russia’s offer for India includes a high level of localization and the possibility of transferring the construction part of the project to New Delhi for Indian contractors to develop under Russian supervision.

At present, India’s nuclear generating capacity is around 7.5GW, with New Delhi planning to increase it by 70% in the next five years, reaching 13GW by 2029.