Moscow eyes Maha to supply small modular reactors for nuclear power

Nagpur: Russia is keen to sell small modular reactors (SMRs) to Maharashtra through the country's govt-owned nuclear energy undertaking, Rosatom. Maharashtra govt, in turn, plans to supply electricity to the global capacity centres (GCCs) and data centres it plans to set up in the state through nuclear power. Both GCCs and data centres are power-intensive set-ups. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's had last month announced during the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos that Maharashtra would be the first state in the country to install SMRs for generating nuclear power. Talking to TOI on the sidelines of Advantage Vidarbha Khasdar Audyogi Mahotsav, the Russian vice-consul for the Mumbai region, Nikolay Kapustin, said his team met CM Fadnavis to discuss areas of bilateral cooperation. "Supplying SMRs was one of the key focuses of the meeting," he said.
Rosatom has a high degree of expertise in the sector. The country not only looked at selling but also at technology sharing on the front.Fadnavis said at Davos that SMR initiatives were in line with the Sustainable Harnessing of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill that was passed in Parliament. The CM said that the state govt is in talks with govt nuclear energy entities in both India and Russia. Kapustin said Russia is looking for more regional-level cooperation in India. "There can be parallel collaborations with different states at an individual level," he said.Russia is also keen on cooperation in infrastructure development in Maharashtra, considering the projects the state is taking up. "There is a lot to offer, for example, bullet trains or anything to boost the infrastructure," Kapustin said.