Pranos, started by Shaurya Kaushal and Roshan George in Bengaluru, leads India’s research on nuclear fusion. 31-year-old Shaurya Kaushal and 32-year-old Roshan George decided to enter the field of nuclear fusion in 2021 after several rounds of brainstorming and finally formed Pranos in May 2024. It is among the nation’s earliest startups to enter this promising but challenging domain. The firm hopes to lever nuclear fusion energy, a clean and virtually boundless source of power, to light up millions of homes across India
“Pranos comes from the Sanskrit word “Prana,” which means energy, and Cosmos. And put them together, you get Pranos.”, says Shaurya Kaushal. “I’m a Marvel fan, so I wanted something similar to Thanos. Well, we’d be placing Pranos as probably Thanos’ nicer brother who’s going to make fusion happen so that we don’t need to eradicate half of the population.”, he explained.
Background and Vision
Nuclear fusion involves combining two light atomic nuclei to form a heavier one, releasing vast amounts of energy in the process. This technology is still experimental globally due to the difficulty in stabilizing plasma, a critical component of fusion reactions. Pranos is working on magnetic confinement fusion (MCF), using electromagnets to contain plasma within a reactor.
Challenges and Opportunities
Nonetheless, Pranos is optimistic about the future of nuclear fusion in India. The nation has historically concentrated on nuclear fission but has now been laying out ambitious projections for nuclear power, with an aim towards a capacity of 100 GW by 2047. Nonetheless, regulatory challenges persist, as prevailing policies are largely geared toward fission. International cooperation, like India’s participation in France’s ITER project, is important for pushing global fusion research forward. Pranos is confident that greater interest, government funding, and investment will make India a leader in nuclear fusion technology.
Why pursue Nuclear Fission in India?
Shaurya and Roshan chose India to pursue fusion energy because , although global startups and nations have been making tremendous progress in the development of fusion technology for the last 5 to 10 years, India did not have a comparable program. Nations and startups around the globe are already collaborating to make fusion power plants a reality in the next 10 years. Nothing of this sort was available in India, and this encouraged them to take the lead and initiate efforts to bring fusion energy into the realm here.
Fortunately for them, India’s government has begun realizing the value of nuclear energy, especially with recent efforts towards privatizing it. The recent 20,000 crores allocated in the budget for small modular reactors reflects the government’s seriousness towards this end. India, being a world superpower, is challenged by a population growth, increased energy needs, and global demands to cut down carbon emissions. All these need cleaner energy options. Fusion power, with its low carbon output, is a solution that has great potential, given that nuclear power today provides only 1% of India’s energy mix, as opposed to nations such as the USA, where it provides 10%, or France, where it provides approximately 70%.
With India’s ambitious target of becoming Net Zero by 2070, and the world’s energy mix turning to cleaner sources, nuclear fusion is an integral component of the solution. The Prime Minister’s plan to create 100 gigawatts of nuclear fusion capacity by 2047 can be the key to making this vision a reality, lowering the reliance on coal, and making India a global leader in the energy future.
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