Electricity generated by floating nuclear power plants will be provided to an East Indonesian island, according to an agreement signed by Rosatom and Indonesian company PT Pembangkit Listrik Nuklir.
Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom said it signed the agreement during Russian Energy Week in Moscow to supply the power to the northern part of Halmahera Island in North Maluku.
Two of Rosatom's FPU-100 floating nuclear power units will be deployed, giving a combined capacity of 200 MW. Rosatom said it expects them to be supplying electricity to consumers within five years.
Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, said: "Cooperation between Rosatom and Indonesia is progressing rapidly. Our recent meeting with President Prabowo Subianto reaffirmed that this world's largest island nation is consistently pursuing a course toward strengthening energy security and achieving carbon neutrality. I would like to emphasise the historic significance of this milestone - the world's first-ever export agreement for electricity supply from a floating power unit. I am convinced that this will send a strong signal to the global business community. With systematic government support, the private sector is actively taking the lead in initiating nuclear infrastructure projects capable of transforming the country's economy."
Yudi Utomo Imardjoko, Indonesian Nuclear Scientist and Director of PT Pembangkit Listrik Nuklir, said: "We firmly believe that providing our people with clean, reliable, and carbon-free electricity is essential to securing Indonesia's long-term energy future. It is important to emphasise that this project is structured entirely as a business-to-business initiative, driven by private-sector investment without reliance on funding from Indonesia's State Budget. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to advance this historic partnership and sincerely appreciate the continued support of the Indonesian Government, particularly the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Russia, in facilitating this important milestone."
In its discussions with Indonesia's government, Rosatom has proposed a two-phased approach to nuclear energy in Indonesia, with the first stage consisting of small-scale floating nuclear power units, followed by a second phase involving land-based nuclear power plants equipped with large units.
Background
Rosatom is in the process of constructing four floating power units to supply electricity to a copper mining centre in Chukotka. It is targeting the export market for floating nuclear power plants with capacity of at least 100 MWe and an assigned service life of up to 60 years featuring RITM-200M reactors, which have been derived from those used on Russia's latest nuclear-powered icebreakers.
It already has had experience of operating the world's only floating nuclear power plant - the Akademik Lomonosov - for more than five years. It is based, with its coastal infrastructure, by the city of Pevek - population 5,000 - to which it supplies heat and power in Russia's Arctic Chukotka region.
The business model for the floating power units is that they remain Rosatom-owned and operated, with the customer paying for the electricity generated. Rosatom says they are environmentally friendly, relatively easy to install at deployment sites, and also ensure stable electricity prices over extended periods and do not require countries to invest in their own nuclear infrastructure or assume ownership of the units.