Westinghouse, EDF, Rosatom on Naveen Jindal Group’s nuclear power buying list

The Jindal Group is in talks with international nuclear technology players such as French multinational EDF, US-based Westinghouse and Russian state-owned Rosatom as part of its Rs 1.8 crore nuclear investment plan.

The Naveen Jindal Group announced that it will build 18 GW of nuclear power capacity over the next two decades and is considering a capacity mix of 220 MW to 1,600 MW as part of its planned decarbonisation plan.

« We are identifying technology with international companies like EDF, Rosatom, Westinghouse and others. We are in touch with them and thoroughly evaluate all this technology, » said Naveen Ahlawat, director of sustainability and carbon emissions at Jindal Steel.

The company is also looking for land that is central to the implementation of nuclear power projects, as these projects must maintain a certain distance from settlements.

« We are qualifying the land in terms of performing seismic and geotechnical work. We have already more or less cleared the initial heating measures. We have started the environmental impact assessment studies and are kind of accelerating this overall movement, » he said.

As part of its investment, the company is looking at technology over the next two decades and exploring a mix of capacity from 220 MW small modular reactors, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited’s (NPCIL) 700 Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR), Rosatam 1200 MW VVR reactors to EDF5a0 MWWs.

« Private players in India are starting for the first time. So at least we start warming up for the first couple, at least one couple, that is two reactors, because all things come in pairs and then we go into the mix. The good thing is that there is no playbook and you have to write your own playbook. You have to strategize yourself, » he further explains.

Ahlawat says Jindal Steel is absolutely technology agnostic in nuclear power as our requirement is to procure larger reactors and we are evaluating all the potential and possible technologies that are available in the world.