Strong supply chains, engineering talent make India ideal US civil nuclear partner: NEI chief

India with its strong supply chains and engineering talent is the perfect partner for the US in the civil nuclear sector poised for exponential growth, Maria Korsnick, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) said here.

Korsnick was in India a fortnight ago leading a 20-member delegation from the US nuclear industry to explore opportunities as New Delhi opened the tightly-controlled atomic power sector for private players by easing the draconian liability law.

“India has a very strong supply chain and very strong engineering talent. You’re not new to nuclear. You understand it and have worked very well with it in a very established sector. And that, to me, just makes the perfect partner to go with the innovation in the US,” Korsnick told PTI in an interview at the NEI office here.

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She said the US nurtured innovation through its national labs over many, many years which was now being brought to the marketplace.

“It just feels like a perfect marriage. I think because we’re approaching that both with really strong skill sets, that’s really what sets the backbone for building this trust,” Korsnick said.

She said India and the US have rolled out aggressive plans for the growth of the nuclear sector which presents an opportunity to work together.

India plans to increase its nuclear power capacity from the present 8.78 GW to 100 GW by 2047. In a similar timeframe, the US plans to increase its nuclear power capacity from 100 GW to 400 GW.

“That’s an opportunity why we’re working together, because we’re both going through a very significant build-out,” Korsnick said, adding that small modular reactors (SMRs) are an area of future growth.

The US is investing big in fast-tracking deployment of SMRs with at least three such pilot projects expected to go critical by July 4, when the US celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence.

Korsnick said the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act will help regain the lost momentum in the India-US civil nuclear sector over the past two decades due to unresolved liability issues.

“It was 20 years ago when we took a trade mission to India after a nuclear pact had been signed. There was a lot of momentum and maybe interest that there could be something. And now, look, 20 years have gone by,” Korsnick said.