New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) 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.
"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.