Fuel loading at fast breeder reactor in Kalpakkam to begin next week

CHENNAI: Having overcome multiple challenges, fuel loading at India's first prototype fast-breeder reactor in Tamil Nadu's Kalpakkam is expected to start next week.

Nuclear scientists, working on the sodium-cooled 500 MWe reactor, had encountered some problems.

"Early next week we will start loading the fuel. Last time, after the prime minister inaugurated it, we could not load the fuel as we encountered some technical problems. We have solved them now," a senior official told PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had witnessed the core loading at the facility in March last year.

Once operationalised, the 500 MWe Fast Breeder Reactor will be only the second of its kind in the world. Russia operates the other fast breeder reactor of 800 MWe. A few other countries had tried mastering the complex technology, but had given up.

"We encountered multiple problems, there were a few surprises as we are operationalising a sodium-cooled reactor at this scale for the first time," the official said.

The commissioning of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) will mark the second stage of India's three-stage nuclear programme that aims to recycle spent fuel to reduce the inventory of radioactive waste.

"Now, we expect first criticality to be achieved within six months of fuel loading. Then, we will gradually raise the power to full capacity," the official said.

The PFBR being developed in Kalpakkam is the first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor to use plutonium-based mixed oxide as fuel and liquid sodium as coolant. It will also utilise the spent fuel of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, which form the mainstay of nuclear power in India at present.

While the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) operates nuclear power plants in the country, the PFBR in Kalpakkam is being developed by the Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (BHAVINI).

Last July, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) granted permission for loading of fuel, first approach to criticality and conducting low-power physics experiments for the PFBR.

PFBRs are critical for India's nuclear programme as the spent fuel from these reactors will be used to power the thorium-based reactors that form the third stage of the closed fuel cycle.

The government has announced a nuclear energy mission that aims to produce 100 GW electricity through nuclear power.

At present, India's installed nuclear power capacity stands at 8.18 GW. An additional 7.30 GW nuclear energy projects are under construction or commissioning and 7.00 GW have been sanctioned and are currently undergoing pre-project activities.

Upon completion of these projects, India's nuclear power capacity is expected to reach 22.48 GW by 2031-32.

Beyond this, NPCIL plans to add another 15.40 GW through indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors and 17.60 GW through Light Water Reactors with foreign cooperation, bringing the total installed capacity to 55 GW.

Additionally, BHAVINI is expected to contribute 3.80 GW through Fast Breeder Reactors while the remainder of the capacity will come from Small Modular Reactors, Bharat Small Reactors, and other advanced nuclear technologies developed with private sector collaboration.