Andhra Pradesh eyes strategic role in global nuclear economy, targets Rs 10L cr investments

Hyderabad: IT Minister Nara Lokesh, on Monday said Andhra Pradesh is positioning itself as a trusted long-term partner in the emerging global nuclear economy, as rising AI-driven electricity demand and industrial decarbonisation reshape global energy strategies.

Speaking at the 'US Executive Nuclear Mission to India' summit in New Delhi, jointly organised by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh sees significant opportunities across nuclear manufacturing, engineering ecosystems, industrial supply chains, advanced energy infrastructure, and next-generation clean technology partnerships.

The event brought together senior US nuclear industry executives, policymakers, and strategic stakeholders.

“Global energy systems are entering a structural transition driven by AI compute growth, industrial electrification, energy security concerns, and decarbonisation commitments. Andhra Pradesh intends to play a meaningful role in that transition,” Lokesh said.

Lokesh said advanced nuclear technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and next-generation reactor systems are creating opportunities far beyond electricity generation, particularly in modular manufacturing, precision engineering, distributed supply chains, and industrial-scale deployment ecosystems.

He said India’s engineering talent, manufacturing competitiveness, and industrial scale, combined with Andhra Pradesh’s ports, logistics connectivity, industrial corridors, and execution capabilities, create a compelling proposition for global partnerships.

“Andhra Pradesh is approaching nuclear energy not merely as a power sector opportunity, but as a long-term industrial ecosystem opportunity,” he said.

Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh is simultaneously building industrial corridors, electronics manufacturing clusters, renewable energy infrastructure, and large-scale digital infrastructure ecosystems.

He noted that Visakhapatnam is being positioned as a major AI and data center hub, with nearly 6 GW of data center capacity expected to come up over the coming years.

“These next-generation industrial ecosystems require massive volumes of reliable, affordable, round-the-clock clean power. Energy planning is therefore becoming central to economic planning,” he said.

Lokesh reiterated that Andhra Pradesh’s Integrated Clean Energy Policy targets nearly Rs 10 lakh crore in investments across renewables, storage, green hydrogen, transmission infrastructure, manufacturing ecosystems, and grid modernization.

Highlighting the impact of AI-led infrastructure expansion, Lokesh said global electricity demand is entering a new phase.

“A single hyperscale AI-native data center can consume electricity comparable to that of a mid-sized city. When you combine AI infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, electronics clusters, and industrial corridors, the scale of future power demand becomes enormous,” he said.

He added that Andhra Pradesh is already witnessing strong interest from global firms planning gigawatt-scale AI-native data centers in Visakhapatnam.

Lokesh said the state’s strategy extends beyond attracting standalone projects.

“Our objective is not merely to host data centers. We want to build the manufacturing ecosystems around them,” he said.

He outlined Andhra Pradesh’s focus areas, including cooling systems manufacturing, power electronics ecosystems, transformers, battery storage supply chains, semiconductor-linked industries, and advanced workforce development.

He added that Andhra Pradesh intends to participate across the broader nuclear value chain, including precision manufacturing, specialized fabrication, advanced engineering, industrial construction standards, export-oriented supply chains, and workforce development.

Lokesh said the economics of long-duration industrial infrastructure increasingly favour reliable baseload clean power.

“Nuclear energy offers predictable long-term Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), complements renewable energy, and reduces dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets. This predictability matters enormously for sectors such as semiconductors, hyperscale data centers, and advanced manufacturing,” he said.

He noted that modern nuclear technologies are seeing rapid advances in passive safety systems, modular designs, automation, digital monitoring, and operational resilience.