NEW DELHI: To meet the huge energy demands of powering artificial intelligence while also ensuring that energy sources are clean and efficient, global technology giants such as Amazon and Microsoft are now using advanced The country is investing in the development of small-scale nuclear reactors. . Indian construction and engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, long a key player in India’s nuclear power development, sees an opportunity in the growing demand for developing such small reactors.
According to International Reactor, these fission reactors, known as small modular reactors or SMRs, are physically a fraction of the size of traditional nuclear reactors, with systems and components assembled in factories and operated as a unit. It can be transported to the installation location. Energy Agency.
“Globally, I think our model is definitely going to be in the supplier role, which means we have the high end of the manufacturing capabilities needed to support those kinds of projects. We have the manufacturing capacity and we are willing to participate,” said Subramanian Sarma, whole-time director and president (energy), L&T. Questions from ET Infra in a recently held conference call with journalists.
“…In fact, we have received a lot of interest from some of the global players and are well-positioned to participate in that,” Sarma added.
Amazon recently invested $500 million in X Energy, a private advanced nuclear reactor and fuel company based in Maryland. The investment will support, among other things, future carbon-free projects using X-energy’s latest small modular nuclear reactor Xe-100.
According to a statement from X-energy, Amazon and the company plan to bring more than 5 gigawatts of new power projects online across the United States by 2039, the largest commercial deployment goal for SMR to date. The company plans to establish and standardize its implementation. Financing models for developing projects in partnership with infrastructure and utility partners.
L&T has contributed to all 22 operating nuclear reactors in India and has manufactured critical equipment and systems for reactor vessels (containing nuclear fuel), heavy water plants, fuel reprocessing plants, and plasma reactors.
“We are probably one of the few companies in the world with fully integrated capabilities from raw materials to reactor manufacturing,” Sarma said. The company continues to work in the nuclear energy sector, not only as an equipment supplier, but also as a contractor for engineering, procurement and construction work.
Sarma emphasized that SMR development is promising and is gaining momentum in some countries, such as the United States, and that the technology is still evolving. He believes that acceleration and adaptation will largely depend on each country’s regulatory framework. Currently, countries including India are building their nuclear energy regulatory frameworks around traditional large-scale centralized nuclear power plants. The modular nature of SMRs has advantages.
Microsoft says in its policy brief on advanced fusion energy that SMR can fundamentally improve the safety, efficiency, cost and environmental impact from traditional nuclear reactors.
