Russia, Malaysia start work on intergovernmental agreement on floating nuclear plants
MOSCOW. Aug 8 (Interfax) - Russia and Malaysia have begun working on an intergovernmental agreement on deliveries of floating nuclear power plants (FNPP), newspaper Izvestia reported on Friday, citing the CEO of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev.
"We have not yet progressed to the implementation of the project, but we are now preparing an intergovernmental agreement that will basically describe all mutual relations," Likhachev told the paper after the August 6 meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim
Nuclear cooperation with Malaysia is developing rapidly. The Southeast Asian country's interest in Russian FNPPs was first reported a few months ago. The Russian president held talks with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in May and now Kuala Lumpur is already selecting specific technologies for transmission of electricity, the paper said.
"Yes, they really want them badly. The Malaysians will select the electricity supply model, not construction of a nuclear power plant there or the transfer of a unit to them, but the construction of a floating nuclear power plant and sale of electricity directly off the side to Malaysia's consumer grid," Likhachev said.
Russia is a world leader in the operation of floating nuclear power plants, the paper said. Rosatom built the world's first such plant, the Academic Lomonosov, which has been operating successfully in Pevek, Chukotka since May 2020. The floating generating units are built at shipyards and can be delivered by sea to any location in the world with a coastline.
"The Malaysians are choosing floating NPPs with capacity of 100 MW each and a fuel cycle of up to seven or eight years, essentially floating batteries. They can be built here in Russia and shipped there only for use," the paper quoted Likhachev as saying.
The advancement of nuclear energy is becoming increasingly relevant for Malaysia, as the company expects electricity demand to grow by 2030 amid the development of data centers and industrial clusters, Izvestia said.
