Sosnovy Bor (Russia): Russia's Rosatom group is looking at various opportunities, including in the renewables and carbon fibre segments, in the "very promising" Indian market, according to a senior company official. Besides, the group is keen on exploring possibilities in the areas of nuclear medicine, radiation technologies and energy storage.
Rosatom, a global player in the nuclear technology market, is developing the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Tamil Nadu. The plant will have a total of six reactors, each with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW, and two of the units are already operational. Now, the group is also considering opportunities in other areas in India, including renewables and carbon fibre.
"Rosatom is not only about nuclear (energy) but also about several promising areas of cooperation and therefore we will be more than happy to offer some potential cooperation with Indian partners in other areas such as carbon fibre, wind energy," Vadim Titov, President of Rusatom-International Network, told media. Rusatom International Network supports Rosatom divisions' activities in foreign markets and looks for new business opportunities, among other works.
"Definitely, the Indian market is very promising... definitely, for us it is a huge privilege to have the chance to walk with Indian colleagues in the energy field," Titov said. According to him, Rosatom is not only an energy company focused on nuclear energy but is also a leading player in wind power generation in Russia. Without elaborating, he said the company can provide technologies to its foreign partners.
"We are considering several opportunities in the foreign markets regarding wind power generation. Several areas of our activities we can offer to our Indian partners, not only energy solutions but also something else like nuclear medicine, radiation technologies... new materials like carbon fibre. "We are one of the top companies in Russia in production of carbon fibre. We are considering several opportunities in this area (in carbon fibre)," Titov said.
Carbon fibre, a polymer, is a strong and light weight material used in manufacturing. In Russia, Rosatom has more than 600 MW of wind energy capacity in operation. About other opportunities, Titov said logistics is another important area and Rosatom is an operator on the Northern Sea route. "This is a very promising transport corridor and transport and logistics from the east to the west and the west to the east and so on. I believe that here also we can find several opportunities," he said.
Last week, while talking about the International North-South Corridor, the Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor and the Northern Sea Route, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "connectivity will play an important role in the development of our relations in the future". "India is keen to strengthen its partnership with Russia on Arctic issues. There is also immense potential for cooperation in the field of energy. Along with energy, India has also made significant investments in the Russian Far East in the areas of pharma and diamonds," he had said.
To a query on whether the areas of electric vehicles and lithium batteries could also be looked at for partnerships in India, Titov replied in the affirmative. "We believe that this energy storage approach will be part of the future energy mix... if we can find something to work together with the Indian partners, we will be more than happy in this area (energy storage) as well," he added.
About nuclear energy, Titov said the interest for nuclear power plants is growing. Nuclear energy is an eco-friendly source of energy and in the future, the mix of energy will be a combination of nuclear power and renewables, he added. He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of an international fishing tournament last week organised by Rosatom in the waters of the Gulf of Finland and near its Leningrad nuclear power plant here.
Rosatom is working in 50 countries and is constructuing around 35 nuclear power plants across the world, including at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. To a query on volatility in energy prices and whether a nuclear renaissance will happen, Titov said it is obvious to everyone that nuclear energy is a key solution for energy price turbulence.
"Nuclear (energy) can help resolve all such type of (energy) turbulence because this is stable, reliable and eco-friendly. Definitely, we will see a nuclear renaissance very soon. We have now learnt that many many countries have decided to follow new NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) construction strategy... I believe nuclear energy generation will be a great part of the future green energy mix," he said. He also said that nuclear energy price is competitive compared to other sources. (PTI)
