Russia's Rosatom signs deal to supply floating nuclear power to Indonesia's North Maluku

Nuclear power plant cooling towers. Photo: Rosatom.

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has signed an agreement with an Indonesian company to supply 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity from floating nuclear power units to North Maluku province, a project that would bring nuclear-generated power to Indonesia for the first time.

The agreement with Indonesian firm Pembangkit Listrik Nuklir was signed on Friday (16/10/2026) on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week in Moscow. The companies plan to deploy two floating units to serve northern Halmahera Island in eastern Indonesia.

Each unit would be a Rosatom FPU-100 with a capacity of 100 MW, powered by RITM-series marine reactors. Rosatom said the units could begin supplying electricity within five years after the key terms of the power supply contract take effect.

The agreement does not make clear whether the necessary regulatory approvals, financing arrangements and other implementation requirements have been finalised.

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev called the deal the world's first export agreement for electricity supplied by a floating nuclear power unit.

"Cooperation between Rosatom and Indonesia is progressing rapidly," Likhachev said in a statement, citing a recent meeting with President Prabowo Subianto. He said Indonesia was "consistently pursuing a course toward strengthening energy security and achieving carbon neutrality."

Pembangkit Listrik Nuklir director Yudi Utomo Imardjoko, an Indonesian nuclear scientist, said the project was meant to support the country's energy transition and meet rising electricity demand, particularly in the east.

He said the project was structured as a business-to-business initiative funded by private investment, without relying on the state budget.

Likhachev said the deal would show that "with systematic government support, the private sector is actively taking the lead" on nuclear infrastructure projects.

Investor Haji Romo Nitiyudo Wachjo, known as Haji Robert, welcomed the agreement and thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rosatom and the Russian delegation. He also thanked Prabowo and Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin for entrusting him and Yudi with advancing the project. Wachjo, a mining entrepreneur, owns Indotan Group.

Indonesia has included nuclear power in its national energy planning as it seeks to strengthen energy security and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Coal still accounts for a large share of its energy mix, and the government wants its first nuclear plant operating commercially by 2032.

Prabowo has discussed peaceful nuclear cooperation with Russian officials, including Putin during a visit to Moscow in July 2024 and Likhachev in May 2026. The talks covered power plant development, infrastructure, workforce training, and non-energy uses of nuclear technology.

Rosatom has proposed a two-stage approach, starting with small floating units and moving later to land-based plants with larger reactors. The North Maluku project would be a step toward the first stage.

The company says its FPU-100 units are designed to provide continuous power to remote coastal communities and industrial sites, and that their RITM-200M reactors are more compact and more powerful than earlier marine designs.

Russia has operated the Akademik Lomonosov, the world's first floating nuclear power plant, in the Arctic region of Chukotka since 2020. Rosatom says the plant, which uses two KLT-40S reactors, has generated nearly 1.4 billion kilowatt-hours. The company says it is also building 27 nuclear power plants in nine countries.

COMPETITION FOR PARTNERS

Rosatom is not the only suitor. Indonesia is already working with U.S.-based NuScale on a Japan-backed small modular reactor project in West Kalimantan.

South Korea has also signalled interest. A South Korean embassy official, Uhm Taeho, said in Jakarta that Seoul would be "one of the ideal partners" if Indonesia chose nuclear power, pointing to the 26 reactors it operates at home without major incidents and its overseas projects in the Czech Republic and the United Arab Emirates.

He added that the decision rested with Jakarta. Prabowo and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed in April to explore nuclear cooperation.

Prabowo has said he will heed expert advice on safety before deciding. "If we can use it, then why not?" he has said.

In July, Indonesia's nuclear regulator Bapeten and Singapore's National Environment Agency signed a memorandum of understanding on nuclear safety, covering regulatory policy, radiation regulation and emergency preparedness.