India plans to expand its nuclear power capacity over the next two decades to meet energy security and climate goals. The country is building new reactors, including 700-MWe PHWRs and a 500-MWe PFBR. Private players are also being involved in developing small modular reactors and new nuclear technologies.
India has envisaged a significantly greater role for nuclear power over the next two decades to ensure the dual challenge of energy security and climate goals is met, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty has said.
Addressing the 68th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna on Monday, Mohanty also shared plans about the roll out of the new 700-MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) being built on fleet mode -- a nuclear plant construction method in which multiple plants are built simultaneously over a period of five years -- and the steps taken to commission the 500-MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakam.
He said India has also opened up the nuclear sector for private players for setting up of the Bharat Small Reactor, research and development of Bharat Small Modular Reactor and newer technologies for nuclear energy . "Towards capacity addition, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has started commercial operation of two units of indigenous 700 MW PHWRs at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in the last one year.
Also, initial fuel loading is completed in another unit of 700 MW PHWR at Rajasthan Atomic Power Station," he said.
Mohanty said that closed fuel cycle -- cycle where spent fuel is reprocessed and reused to create new fuel -- being the cornerstone of Indian nuclear power programme, the country's first 500 MW PFBR was undergoing core loading paving the way for first-approach-to-criticality.
He said the commissioning of the greenfield Nuclear Fuel Complex at Kota in Rajasthan has entered the advanced commissioning stage.
This facility will mainly cater to the requirement of the upcoming fleet of indigenously built PHWRs.
India is building 14 PHWRs of 700 MWe each, including 10 units in fleet mode.
Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI : Unveiling Tomorrow's Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Office Productivity Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, Developer and Lead Instructor View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of domain experience, trainer View Program Leadership Business Storytelling Masterclass By - Ameen Haque, Founder of Storywallahs View Program Marketing Future of Marketing & Branding Masterclass By - Dr. David Aaker, Professor at Haas School of Business View Program HR Human Potential and the Future of Employment By - Lynda Gratton, Co-chair of the World Economic Forum Council on Work, Wages and Job Creation, Professor of Management Practice View Program Strategy ESG and Business Sustainability Strategy By - Vipul Arora, Partner, ESG & Climate Solutions at Sattva Consulting Author I Speaker I Thought Leader View Program Finance Financial Reporting and Analytics By - Dr. C.P. Gupta, Professor: Department of Finance and Business Economics, University of Delhi View Program "As India sets its path to establish itself as a developed nation (Viksit Bharat), the Government of India has envisaged a significantly greater role for Nuclear Energy in next two decades to ensure dual challenge of energy security and balancing climate goals," Mohanty said.
He said acknowledging the role of clean hydrogen in energy transition and the potential of using nuclear energy in its production, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has forayed into pilot-scale demonstration of the Copper-Chlorine thermo-chemical cycle of hydrogen production.
"A pilot-scale integrated facility for nuclear hydrogen production has been installed and commissioned," Mohanty said.
In March 2024, India participated in the Nuclear Energy Summit, Brussels, and reiterated its commitment to achieve the Net Zero emissions target by 2070.