ROSATOM ships reactor vessel for Kudankulam NPP Unit 6 to India: On January 13, 2025, ROSATOM announced that the VVER-1000 reactor vessel for the sixth unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is currently en route to India. The vessel was produced by ATOMMASH and is a key component in the ongoing expansion of the Kudankulam facility, which is being developed in collaboration with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

The Kudankulam NPP, located in Tamil Nadu, is India's largest nuclear power station and aims to enhance the country's energy capacity. The construction of units 5 and 6 began in 2021, with unit 6 being part of a broader plan to increase India's nuclear power generation capabilities. The project has faced various challenges, including delays and opposition from local communities, but continues to progress with significant support from Russia.

WWER series reactors have been proving their reliability and efficiency for several decades – the operation of NPP power units with WWER in Russia and abroad has exceeded 2 thousand reactor-years. Installations of this type have the potential for long-term use. In particular, reactor installations of this type can form the basis of NPPs planned to be built in the Far East.

“Despite the confident position we have achieved in the nuclear world, we are not standing still. We are developing and making our work more perfect both in terms of equipment design, ensuring an unprecedented level of safety, and in terms of the economic efficiency of our products. We are currently developing a reactor installation for a nuclear power plant with increased capacity, more modern operational properties, improved technical and economic indicators for use in Russia and abroad,” noted the general designer of OKB “GIDROPRESS” Valery Kryzhanovsky.

OKB "GIDROPRESS" is the main designer of reactor installations with WWER, including the most important equipment the reactor vessel. The company supports the equipment at all stages of the life cycle from the development of the technical design to the support of the equipment during commissioning and during operation. Atommash is the flagship of domestic mechanical engineering. It produces complex equipment (reactors, steam generators, etc.) for almost all nuclear construction projects.

The production cycle for manufacturing a VVER-1000 reactor vessel from the start of production is two years. The manufacture of the equipment requires the highest level of precision and compliance with strict international quality standards. The overall quality plan includes 289 control points. At the same time, all operations are carried out under the supervision of inspectors from the authorized organization and the foreign customer. Representatives of the foreign customer have been in Volgodonsk since the beginning of the production of equipment for the Kudankulam NPP – since 2016.

Following the arrival of the reactor vessel, further construction activities will commence, including the installation of additional components necessary for operational readiness. This project is part of a larger initiative involving multiple reactor units under construction at the Kudankulam site.

Agencies