home Politics, U Russia to supply new safe fuel to Kudankulam NPP in India

Russia to supply new safe fuel to Kudankulam NPP in India

NEW-DELHI, June 9. /TASS/. Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom will supply new safe fuel to the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in India, Alexander Ugryumov, Vice President (R&D) of Rosatom’s fuel arm TVEL told the India Today magazine.

“Upgrading to TVS-2M (fuel) will help improve efficiency of the Indian VVER units as well as reduce the cost of electricity. Being more robust, with higher stiffness, this fuel bundle does not bow in the reactor and preserves its initial shape, making operations safer and reliable,” he said.

“While UTVS are packed with 490 kg of enriched uranium pellets, TVS-2M bundles weigh 527 kg. For a nuclear plant operator it gives a lot of options in terms of an extension of a fuel cycle length from 250 up to 510 effective full-power days,” the official added.

TVS-2M at Kudankulam

The Kudankulam NPP is being built with Russia’s technical assistance under the inter-governmental agreement signed in 1988. The NPP is equipped with advanced security systems. Fuel magazines TVS-2M will be installed on reactors 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam NPP.

In 2014, Russia and India signed a general framework agreement for construction of the second stage, including the third and fourth units of the power plant.

In June 2017, an intergovernmental agreement was signed on construction of the third line of the nuclear plant.The plan is to put the units into service in 2021-2022.

Source: TASS: Business & Economy