Rosatom delivers fuel for third reactor at Kudankulam coinciding with Putin visit
Russia's Rosatom delivered the first nuclear fuel for Kudankulam's third reactor, coinciding with Putin's visit to India for a bilateral summit.
New Delhi: Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation announced on Thursday it has delivered the first consignment of nuclear fuel for initial loading of the third reactor at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, with the development coinciding with President Vladimir Putin’s arrival in New Delhi for an annual bilateral summit.
A cargo flight operated by the Nuclear Fuel Division of Rosatom delivered fuel assemblies manufactured by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, the corporation said in a statement.
A total of seven flights from Russia are planned to supply the entire reactor core and some reserve fuel. These shipments are provided under a contract signed in 2024, which includes fuel supply for the third and fourth VVER-1000 reactors of the Kudankulam plant for the entire service life, starting from initial loading.
Russia is the only country to have built a nuclear power plant in India in recent decades, and the Kudankulam plan will have six VVER-1000 reactors with a total installed capacity of 6,000 MW. The first two reactors at Kudankulam were connected to India’s power grid in 2013 and 2016 and currently supply electricity to the southern region. The four other reactors are under construction.
During the operation of these two reactors in the first phase of the Kudankulam plant, Russian and Indian engineers have done considerable work to increase their efficiency through the introduction of advanced nuclear fuel and extended fuel cycles, Rosatom said. Beginning in 2022, the Kudankulam plant has been supplied with nuclear fuel of the TVS-2M model, which provides more reliable and cost-effective reactor operation due to its rigid design, a new generation anti-debris filter, and an increased mass of uranium.
The introduction of this fuel has enabled the fuel cycle of the reactors to be extended from 12 to 18 months, and power units are stopped less frequently for fuel re-load and can generate more electricity.
The second phase of the Kudankulam plant will become the first using VVER-1000 reactors to be launched with an 18-month fuel cycle, Rosatom said. This is the result of successful cooperation between Rosatom’s Nuclear Fuel Division and Indian partners, with solutions implemented earlier at similar plants in Russia and China being introduced at Kudankulam.
Rosatom supplies nuclear fuel throughout the operational life of nuclear power plants, and provides engineering services, increasing the efficiency of reactors by introducing new fuel and fuel cycle solutions.
