Oleg Naraykin, first deputy director of Kurchatov Institute

– By cooperating with India in the field of innovative power engineering we can solve the problem of accessibility of energy resources

Russia and India have signed an agreement for the construction of four more reactors at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and for cooperation at other sites. The agreement was signed in New Delhi during the official visit of President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev to India.

The Russian-Indian cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy has good old traditions. Most of the modern nuclear technologies were developed in the USSR, more specifically, at Kurchatov Institute. I mean the first nuclear power plant, the first nuclear icebreaker, Tokamak.

We have made a really brilliant contribution to the development of the world nuclear industry. But the life is going on and the institute is developing new innovative technologies and is ready to enlarge cooperation in this field, particularly, with Indian partners. Engineering of innovative power such as thermonuclear or hydrogen energy is safer but its development is impossible without use of nano-technologies. By cooperating with India in the field of innovative power engineering we can solve the problem of accessibility of energy resources – the key problem of humanity in the near future – especially if India and China catch up with the United States in industrial development and energy consumption.