Russia has extended a helping hand to Bharat in the construction of high-capacity nuclear power units at a new site, in addition to the ongoing atomic power project at Kudankulam. This collaborative effort aims to expand cooperation between the two countries in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The offer was made by Alexey Likhachev, the director general of the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, during a meeting with Atomic Energy Commission chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty in Seversk, Russia.
Likhachev expressed Russia’s readiness for a significant expansion of cooperation with Bharat in utilizing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This includes the serial construction of high-capacity nuclear power units designed by Russia at a new site within Bharat.
The collaboration also encompasses land-based and floating low-power generation projects, as well as cooperation in the nuclear fuel cycle and non-power applications of nuclear technologies.
Bharat and Russia have an existing partnership in the nuclear sector, with Russia currently assisting in the construction of the Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu. This project, which began in 2002, involves the installation of six light-water nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 MW.
The first two reactors commenced commercial operations in 2014 and 2016, respectively, with work on two additional reactors currently in progress.
During a visit to Russia in December, Bharat’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar signed agreements to advance the construction of the fifth and sixth reactors for the Kudankulam project. Moreover, Bharat expressed its interest in exploring additional sites for the installation of Russian reactors, indicating a deepening of bilateral cooperation in the nuclear energy sector.
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The meeting between Mohanty and Likhachev also involved discussions on the progress of the Kudankulam project, along with a visit to the Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex (PDEC) at Seversk in the Tomsk region.
The PDEC forms a crucial part of the Proryv project, which aims to develop a new power plant with a closed nuclear fuel cycle while addressing issues related to spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.The Kudankulam project holds significance as Bharat’s largest nuclear power plant and is hailed as a flagship venture of Russian-Bharatiya technological and power industry cooperation.
Currently, construction and installation works are underway for Units 3 and 4, representing the third stage of the project. Rosatom State Corporation is actively involved in providing fuel throughout the entire life cycle of the power units at Kudankulam NPP.
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