Russia, India Discuss New Nuclear Energy Projects

• Russia is preparing specs for a new Indian nuclear plant with VVER-1200 reactors
• The Kudankulam site in India has two VVER-1000 reactors, with two more VVER-1200 units
• India plans to reach 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047, with large reactors and SMRs

The Russian state corporation is now laying out technical requirements for a nuclear power plant in India, which will utilize Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactor units, as well as new prospects for collaboration such as constructing small modular reactors (SMRs), including the construction of floating power units. They also spoke about the progress made on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant project.

Russia and India are strengthening their bilateral ties through enhanced nuclear energy cooperation, with Rosatom playing a key role in advancing atomic projects, nuclear power development, and clean energy initiatives within their growing energy partnership.

Situated around 100 kilometers from Tuticorin, in the southern part of India, the Kudankulam site is home to two previously operational in Russia VVER-1000 reactors which were commercially operational in 2014 (unit 1) and 2017 (unit 2).

Rosatom stated, “Unit 3 is currently undergoing pre-startup operations and preparing for one of the most important milestones - the testing of the safety systems for the open reactor. In parallel, construction and installation work and the delivery of equipment to power unit 4 continues, and construction of the third stage - power units 5 and 6 - is also actively under way”.

Two other units, Kudankulam 7 and 8, with enhanced VVER-1200 reactors, are designed as part of a new future phase for the plant.

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“The discussion covered expanding the partnership, including developing large and small nuclear power plant projects and cooperation in the nuclear fuel cycle. Particular attention was paid to the potential for localising equipment manufacturing. Meeting participants noted the valuable experience gained during the Kudankulam NPP project and emphasised their readiness to implement new major nuclear energy initiatives in India”, said Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Director General of the Department of Atomic Energy of India, Rosatom.

“The Kudankulam project laid the foundation for our partnership and paved the way for new joint initiatives and technology exchange. We have built an effective system of cooperation and a reliable supply chain, which has become the foundation for the further development of new projects - whether large or small-scale nuclear power plants”, added Likhachev.

The World Nuclear Association reports that India now has 24 operational nuclear reactors, with a total capacity of 7,943 MW. Moreover, it is constructing six additional reactors, with a total capacity of 4,768 MW. Furthermore, in addition to other projects that are in pre-project stages, India is in the process of building an additional 10 reactors with a capacity of 7 GW.

The Indian government aims to achieve 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047. India has process for all types of nuclear energies and is pursuing options for both large reactor build-outs and also small modular reactors (SMRs) that the nations wants to pursue in the interim for reducing GHG contributions.

Jitendra Singh, India's Minister of State outlined that there are three types of SMRs that are in development at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). These are a 200 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200), a 55 MWe SMR, and a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor with a thermal capacity of 5 MWt that will produce hydrogen.