First nuclear fuel delivered for Kudankulam unit 3

The fuel assemblies, manufactured in Russia at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, for the VVER-1000 reactor, were flown by cargo plane. In total seven flights will be required to deliver the full reactor core and reserve fuel.

When it is launched, the unit will be the first VVER-1000 power unit to start with an 18-month fuel cycle. The first two units at the plant have been supplied with the advanced TVS-2M nuclear fuel since 2022, enabling their operating cycle to increase from 12 to 18 months.

TVEL, which is Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom's fuel division, said the TVS-2M fuel "ensures more reliable and cost-effective operation of the power units due to its rigid structure, a next-generation anti-debris filter, and a higher uranium mass".

The Kudankulam site, about 100 kilometres from the port city of Tuticorin at the southern tip of India, is already home to two operating Russian VVER-1000 pressurised water reactors which have been in commercial operation since 2014 (Kudankulam unit 1) and 2017 (unit 2). Four more are currently under construction, in two phases: construction of units 3 and 4 began in 2017, with work on units 5 and 6 beginning in 2021. Two further units - Kudankulam 7 and 8, larger AES-2006 units with VVER-1200 reactors - have been proposed as a fourth phase of the plant.

The fuel was delivered under a contract signed in 2024 which covers the fuel supply for units 3 and 4 for the entire operating life of the units.