India to Commission First Commercial Fast Breeder Nuclear Reactor by 2010

---

India's first prototype fast breeder nuclear reactor, located at the Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR) (Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu), will be ready for commercial use by 2010. The 500-megawatt (MW) fast breeder reactor (FBR) project, promoted by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu), is estimated to cost about $715 million.

While this project is the first commercial venture of IGCAR, it is also the first time that an indigenously fabricated safety vessel has been used in a reactor. The safety vessel, 13.4 meters in height and diameter and more than 80 tons in weight, was installed in June 2008. The vessel, designed by a team of scientists at IGCAR, is an inverted dome-shape structure made of special steel and is placed inside the reactor to prevent leakages.

IGCAR will also build the first reactor fuel cycle facility at the same site. The unit, which is expected to commence operations in 2014, will process spent fuel from the FBR and will separate uranium and unused plutonium from radioactive waste. The reactor complex at Kalpakkam is one of the very few sites in the world where the breeder reactor, fuel reproduction and waste management units will be located together. Transportation and effective management of spent fuel and waste have always been a concern for nuclear power plants and co-location is a viable option as it precludes additional movement of radioactive waste. A mixture of uranium oxide and plutonium will be fed to the reactor, which will then break the plutonium to produce power. The FBR technology has been designed to produce more fuel than it consumes. Consequently, the reactor will breed surplus plutonium, which will be utilized in additional reactors.

The civil work activities, which began in 2004, have been completed. While most of the equipment has also been procured, the project team is awaiting clearances from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (Mumbai), to start work on the erection of the primary vessel and other components. While work on the turbine generator and seawater pumping unit is under way, the outfall, auxiliary power structures and the switchyard will be constructed by March 2009. Solid sodium has been imported from France, 75 tons of which has been moved to sodium tanks in the complex. Sodium is used as a coolant in the FBR process.

The FBR is the first of four reactors planned by the Department of Atomic Energy (DoAE) during the current Five-Year Plan (2007-12). The second and third co-location reactors will also be built at the IGCAR complex in Kalpakkam. The site for the fourth reactor has not yet been finalized.

IGCAR was established in 1971 under the aegis of the DoAE to carry out research and development activity in the area of nuclear and atomic energy. The facility at Kalpakkam also houses the KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor, which has the distinction of being the only operating reactor in the world to use Uranium-233 from the irradiated Thorium (Thorium-234) of other reactors. KAMINI was developed jointly by IGCAR and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Mumbai) and commissioned in 1996.

India has envisioned a three-stage nuclear-power development program to meet the country's growing energy demand. The first phase will involve the commissioning of 12 pressurized heavy water reactors. The second stage will consist of construction and commercialization of FBRs. India hopes to commission advanced thorium-based reactors in the final phase of the program.

The construction of the FBR is seen as a sign of India's move into the sophisticated fast breeder technology arena. Commencement of commercial operations of the reactor in 2010 is expected to place India on the nuclear power world map alongside global leaders such as Japan, France and Russia.

View Plant Profile - 1059723
View Project Report - 89000640

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.