Nuclear Energy in India : Updates

In a first, Centre taps private sector to invest Rs 2.16 lakh crore in nuclear energy.

ET Bureau
Last Updated: Feb 21, 2024, 12:04:00 AM IST


Synopsis
This is the first time the government is pursuing private investment in nuclear power, a non-carbon-emitting energy source that contributes less than 2% of India's total electricity generation. The funding would help India to achieve its target of having 50% of its installed electric generation capacity use non-fossil fuels by 2030, up from 42% now.​

The Centre will invite private companies to invest about $26 billion (₹2.16 lakh crore) in nuclear energy to increase the amount of electricity from sources that don't produce carbon dioxide emissions, said two government officials who are directly involved in the matter.

This is the first time the government is pursuing private investment in nuclear power, a non-carbon-emitting energy source that contributes less than 2% of India's total electricity generation. The funding would help India to achieve its target of having 50% of its installed electric generation capacity use non-fossil fuels by 2030, up from 42% now.

The government is in talks with at least five players - including Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Power and Vedanta Ltd - to invest around ₹44,000 crore ($5.30 billion) each, the people cited said last week.

The Department of Atomic Energy and state-run Nuclear Power Corp of India (NPCIL) have held multiple rounds of discussions with the companies in the past year on the investment plan, they said. The Department of Atomic Energy, NPCIL, Tata Power, Reliance Industries, Adani Power and Vedanta did not respond to queries sent by Reuters.

With the investment, the government hopes to build 11,000 megawatts (MW) of new nuclear power generation capacity by 2040, said the people in the know, who did not want to be identified as the plan is still being finalized. NPCIL owns and operates India's nuclear power plants, with a capacity of 7,500 MW, and has committed investments for another 1,300 MW.

The people cited said the plan is for the companies to invest in the nuclear plants, acquire land and water, and undertake construction in areas outside the reactor complex. However, the rights to build and run the stations, as well as their fuel management, will rest with NPCIL, as allowed under the law, they added.

The companies are expected to earn revenue from the plant's electricity sales and NPCIL would operate the projects for a fee, they said. "This hybrid model is an innovative solution to accelerate nuclear capacity," said Charudatta Palekar, an independent power sector consultant who formerly worked for PwC.

The plan will not require any amendment to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

In a first, Centre taps private sector to invest Rs 2.16 lakh crore in nuclear energy
 
Finally !!!

PM Modi to Witness India’s Historic Nuclear Milestone at Kalpakkam Fast Breeder Reactor Plant

Updated March 3rd, 2024 at 16:40 IST​
1709469102674.png​

India will become the second country ever to have operated commercial fast reactors, after Russia, thus bringing it another step closer to the use of Thorium.​

New Delhi: Prime Minister Modi will witness a landmark moment in India's nuclear power journey during his visit to Tamil Nadu on Monday. He will be attending the initiation of core loading for the indigenous Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, according to an official statement. Developed by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), this reactor is being deemed a very important milestone with its 500 MWe capacity.

Interestingly, with this achievement, India will become the second country to have commercially operated fast reactors.

Core Loading Process

The core loading process involves the sequential loading of reactor control subassemblies, blanket subassemblies, and fuel subassemblies, which will ultimately lead to the generation of power. As per prior reports, India's nuclear strategy follows a three-stage program with a closed fuel cycle, and the PFBR will be the second stage. It uses spent fuel from the first stage, reprocessing it for use as fuel. This move is being hailed as India's move towards self-reliance in fuel supply for future fast reactors, the statement added.

Towards Energy Independence & Thorium Ambitions

Additionally, the sodium cooled PFBR possesses a ‘unique’ capability to produce more fuel than it consumes. This, too, is a key step towards achieving energy independence. Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) promise to offer a safe, efficient, and clean energy source, aligning with the goal of reaching net zero emissions, the release added, and they do so because they have advanced safety features and minimal nuclear waste generation.

This development also underlines the overall progress of India's goal towards thorium utilisation, which is integral to the third stage of its nuclear power program, and the plan has been there for a while. Once operational, India will become the second country, after Russia, to have a commercially operating fast reactor.

PM Modi to Witness India’s Historic Nuclear Milestone at Kalpakkam Fast Breeder Reactor Plant- Republic World
 
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A big event in India’s nuclear journey passed off quietly. Just as well

Why is the switching on of one more nuclear reactor so significant?

By S Raghotham
Last Updated 10 March 2024, 01:29 IST
1710081667770.png
PFBR, Kalpakkam. Photo credit: IGCAR

A most significant event took place in the country last week, but with almost no attention paid to it – probably because the Prime Minister did not make a big deal of it. He came, he saw, he left, apparently all in 45 minutes.

Fittingly appropriate, I must say, considering what it was all about. It was the “commencement of core loading of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)”. In simple terms, the operators of this nuclear reactor, PFBR, began to load fuel into the reactor and switched it on – and they will slowly crank it up over some months to ‘criticality’, when they can be sure that a sustainable fission chain has been set off and the reactor can run and produce power.

But India already has 20+ nuclear reactors and more are coming up, and all of them together don’t still account for more than 4-5% of India’s power generation. So why is the switching on of one more nuclear reactor so significant?

So, here’s the thing in a nutshell: India has huge energy needs to meet its industrialization and developmental goals, but it is not endowed with massive hydrocarbon (oil and gas) resources. Nuclear energy is the only source that can meet India’s energy and power needs while at the same time helping to de-carbonise the economy. But to harness this technology, we need the right fuel. We do not have enough uranium reserves, but we have abundant thorium (which can be converted into uranium), said to be enough to power India for more than 250 years. To be able to use thorium optimally, we have to graduate through a 3-stage nuclear programme. That is what Homi Bhabha designed in the 1950s, and we have been following since. The existing nuclear reactors are all of the first stage – burning uranium to produce power, and plutonium for the second stage reactors. With the PFBR, we have reached that second stage on a commercial scale. This reactor will breed plutonium as it consumes it. It will also help convert thorium to U-233 on the side. The dream of reaching the thorium stage is thus closer.

The PFBR story is the story of India, its leadership and the people, at all levels, in the nuclear establishment determinedly pursuing a plan laid out in 1958, no matter what. If it succeeds – and at this stage, one sees no reason why it shouldn’t – then India will have arrived as the leader on the world nuclear stage at just the time when there’s growing interest worldwide in reviving nuclear power, thanks to climate change.

I have been inside the reactor vault, the ‘sanctum sanctorum’, as it were, and the control room of the PFBR, where PM Modi too was taken, some 10 years ago, when it stood ready, more or less. And I have met and interviewed dozens of people involved in it — from Sivaramakrishnan, a crane operator who had to lift up the reactor and safety vessels -- special steel vessels of 12-13 m diameter -- above 80-foot tall walls and place them in a precise spot on the other side (with a tolerance of 300 mm!) without being able to see the other side (believe me, there’s a logic to why it had to be done that way), to people right up the hierarchy of scientists, engineers, directors and CMDs of ‘Bhavini’, the company formed to build the PFBR, and IGCAR, the research center whose experience of building and running a test breeder reactor (FBTR) since 1985 determined every detail of the PFBR.

1710081833598.png

I have also met and interviewed scientists, engineers and directors and heads at the apex of the Department of Atomic Energy and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and many other institutions that make up India’s vast nuclear establishment, as well as people from the likes of L&T, Walchandnagar Industries, MTAR, etc., who were involved in the manufacture of key components, sub-systems, etc.

The story of the PFBR, more than anything else, is the story of the perseverance and triumph of these people. Let me point you to only a few of these people, events and stories:

Nehru: In the 1950s, the US and Britain, too, wanted to build thorium-based reactors. In 1951, when Nehru appealed to the US for food aid as India reeled under near-famine conditions, the US Congress made it conditional on India lifting its ban on export of Kerala’s thorium-rich monazite sands, and exporting them to the US. Nehru refused to give in. The US Congress held off the food aid for weeks, but finally gave in. That export ban stands even today. We need the thorium ourselves.

‘Carbide’ Ganguly: When France, which was helping us design the experimental FBTR, backed off from cooperation and refused to sell the special mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel required, India’s breeder reactor dreams seemed at an end. India was not in a position, at the time, to make the MOX fuel. In stepped C Ganguly, a young PhD who had researched on an alternative carbide fuel. The FBTR ended up using the carbide fuel, a world-first, and has run on it for nearly 40 years now, thanks to Chaitanyamoy, nay ‘Carbide’ Ganguly.

The Tsunami: Then PM Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the PFBR in October 2004. A special elevated platform was built for the PM to do the honours by remote since his security chief would not allow him to go into a large, excavated area. Two months later, when the December 2004 Tsunami struck and the entire excavated area was flooded and everything in the vicinity washed away, it was this VIP platform that helped save the lives of all but one of the 150 people who were at the site. A construction superviser who was standing on that platform alerted the workers to flee just in time as he saw the giant waves rush in.

Anil Kakodkar: During the India-US ‘nuclear deal’ talks, the US insisted that India put its Fast Breeder Reactor under international safeguards. Given its strategic and commercial importance, the DAE resisted it strongly. Some in the government and some ‘strategic experts’ ridiculed the Fast Breeder programme as a “pipedream” that would never take off and that it would be silly to let go of the deal for its sake. Pressure was sought to be mounted on the DAE to relent. The then DAE Chairman Anil Kakodkar decided to use the only weapon he had: He went public with his “over my dead body” opposition. The FBR was taken off the table. Today, the “pipedream” has become reality.

(Published 10 March 2024, 01:29 IST)

A big event in India’s nuclear journey passed off quietly. Just as well
 
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Gautam said:
A big event in India’s nuclear journey passed off quietly. Just as well

Why is the switching on of one more nuclear reactor so significant?

By S Raghotham
Last Updated 10 March 2024, 01:29 IST
View attachment 32318
PFBR, Kalpakkam. Photo credit: IGCAR

A most significant event took place in the country last week, but with almost no attention paid to it – probably because the Prime Minister did not make a big deal of it. He came, he saw, he left, apparently all in 45 minutes.

Fittingly appropriate, I must say, considering what it was all about. It was the “commencement of core loading of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)”. In simple terms, the operators of this nuclear reactor, PFBR, began to load fuel into the reactor and switched it on – and they will slowly crank it up over some months to ‘criticality’, when they can be sure that a sustainable fission chain has been set off and the reactor can run and produce power.

But India already has 20+ nuclear reactors and more are coming up, and all of them together don’t still account for more than 4-5% of India’s power generation. So why is the switching on of one more nuclear reactor so significant?

So, here’s the thing in a nutshell: India has huge energy needs to meet its industrialization and developmental goals, but it is not endowed with massive hydrocarbon (oil and gas) resources. Nuclear energy is the only source that can meet India’s energy and power needs while at the same time helping to de-carbonise the economy. But to harness this technology, we need the right fuel. We do not have enough uranium reserves, but we have abundant thorium (which can be converted into uranium), said to be enough to power India for more than 250 years. To be able to use thorium optimally, we have to graduate through a 3-stage nuclear programme. That is what Homi Bhabha designed in the 1950s, and we have been following since. The existing nuclear reactors are all of the first stage – burning uranium to produce power, and plutonium for the second stage reactors. With the PFBR, we have reached that second stage on a commercial scale. This reactor will breed plutonium as it consumes it. It will also help convert thorium to U-233 on the side. The dream of reaching the thorium stage is thus closer.

The PFBR story is the story of India, its leadership and the people, at all levels, in the nuclear establishment determinedly pursuing a plan laid out in 1958, no matter what. If it succeeds – and at this stage, one sees no reason why it shouldn’t – then India will have arrived as the leader on the world nuclear stage at just the time when there’s growing interest worldwide in reviving nuclear power, thanks to climate change.

I have been inside the reactor vault, the ‘sanctum sanctorum’, as it were, and the control room of the PFBR, where PM Modi too was taken, some 10 years ago, when it stood ready, more or less. And I have met and interviewed dozens of people involved in it — from Sivaramakrishnan, a crane operator who had to lift up the reactor and safety vessels -- special steel vessels of 12-13 m diameter -- above 80-foot tall walls and place them in a precise spot on the other side (with a tolerance of 300 mm!) without being able to see the other side (believe me, there’s a logic to why it had to be done that way), to people right up the hierarchy of scientists, engineers, directors and CMDs of ‘Bhavini’, the company formed to build the PFBR, and IGCAR, the research center whose experience of building and running a test breeder reactor (FBTR) since 1985 determined every detail of the PFBR.

View attachment 32319

I have also met and interviewed scientists, engineers and directors and heads at the apex of the Department of Atomic Energy and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and many other institutions that make up India’s vast nuclear establishment, as well as people from the likes of L&T, Walchandnagar Industries, MTAR, etc., who were involved in the manufacture of key components, sub-systems, etc.

The story of the PFBR, more than anything else, is the story of the perseverance and triumph of these people. Let me point you to only a few of these people, events and stories:

Nehru: In the 1950s, the US and Britain, too, wanted to build thorium-based reactors. In 1951, when Nehru appealed to the US for food aid as India reeled under near-famine conditions, the US Congress made it conditional on India lifting its ban on export of Kerala’s thorium-rich monazite sands, and exporting them to the US. Nehru refused to give in. The US Congress held off the food aid for weeks, but finally gave in. That export ban stands even today. We need the thorium ourselves.

‘Carbide’ Ganguly: When France, which was helping us design the experimental FBTR, backed off from cooperation and refused to sell the special mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel required, India’s breeder reactor dreams seemed at an end. India was not in a position, at the time, to make the MOX fuel. In stepped C Ganguly, a young PhD who had researched on an alternative carbide fuel. The FBTR ended up using the carbide fuel, a world-first, and has run on it for nearly 40 years now, thanks to Chaitanyamoy, nay ‘Carbide’ Ganguly.

The Tsunami: Then PM Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the PFBR in October 2004. A special elevated platform was built for the PM to do the honours by remote since his security chief would not allow him to go into a large, excavated area. Two months later, when the December 2004 Tsunami struck and the entire excavated area was flooded and everything in the vicinity washed away, it was this VIP platform that helped save the lives of all but one of the 150 people who were at the site. A construction superviser who was standing on that platform alerted the workers to flee just in time as he saw the giant waves rush in.

Anil Kakodkar: During the India-US ‘nuclear deal’ talks, the US insisted that India put its Fast Breeder Reactor under international safeguards. Given its strategic and commercial importance, the DAE resisted it strongly. Some in the government and some ‘strategic experts’ ridiculed the Fast Breeder programme as a “pipedream” that would never take off and that it would be silly to let go of the deal for its sake. Pressure was sought to be mounted on the DAE to relent. The then DAE Chairman Anil Kakodkar decided to use the only weapon he had: He went public with his “over my dead body” opposition. The FBR was taken off the table. Today, the “pipedream” has become reality.

(Published 10 March 2024, 01:29 IST)

A big event in India’s nuclear journey passed off quietly. Just as well
Click to expand...
Next we should construct PFBR in fleet mode, similar to the IPHWR-700, and implement AHWR soon.

 
Last edited:
We should go with small modular reactors (SMR). As we are already building nuclear submarines, I think we need a little research to make them perfect and affordable by using our private industries.

 
Gautam said:
Besides the CHTR/IHTR, other types of reactors are also in consideration that will directly use Thorium. Namely the Indian Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (IMSBR) & the Indian Accelerator Driven Systems (IADS). IMSBR is a typical reactor but the IADS is a subcritical reactor. Both are still in early phases of design. IMSBR is a completely indigenous effort where as IADS started as an indigenous program & is now a JV. We signed a deal with Fermi Labs of US to jointly develop the IADS.
Click to expand...

This is an incredibly detailed presentation on the research work being done by BARC on Accelerator driven Thorium sub-critical reactors:


To summarize here is the present scenario:

To build sub-critical reactors we first need a build a 1 GeV LINAC proton accelerator with a beam current of 10 mA or higher. Number of neutrons per proton per Watt of beam power reaches a plateau just above 1 GeV. So, there is no point in going any higher than 1 GeV.

1 GeV, 10 mA beam will give us a 300 MWe sub-critical reactor. Whereas a 1 GeV, 30 mA beam will get us a ~750-780 MWe reactor.
Screenshot (937).png
Of course, developing a 1GeV accelerator from scratch is no joke. So, BARC has divided the project to 3 stages:

1. Stage 1: 20 MeV, 30 mA LINAC Low Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator (LEHIPA).
2. Stage 2: 200 MeV, 30 mA LINAC Medium Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator (MEHIPA).
3. Stage 3: 1 GeV, 10-30 mA(?) LINAC accelerator.

BARC had built the LEHIPA in their own campus more than a decade ago. The LEHIPA is a 20 MeV, 30 mA proton accelerator. Almost all critical sub-systems are designed, manufactured, tested in India. The parts that were imported were progressively indigenized. BARC has nurtured and developed a wholly domestic manufacturing/fabrication ecosystem.
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continued in the next post.....
 
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continued from above...

BARC have also built their own control & diagnostic software too. That is probably a low hanging fruit in this country, but still worthy of a mention.
Screenshot (947).png

BARC has now started to build the Medium Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator (MEHIPA). This is a 200 MeV, 30 mA LINAC proton accelerator. While the MEHIPA is getting built BARC also wants to start spallation source experiments. They want to attach the LEHIPA with a prototype sub-critical reactor. Once the sub-critical core is proven it will scaled up for use with the MEHIPA.
Screenshot (949).png

Around the same time the US gov. was funding the "Proton Improvement Plan II", or PIP-II. Under the PIP-II plan US based Fermi-labs would build the world's most powerful proton accelerator with international partners. As BARC was proposing the MEHIPA to the Indian govt. we seem to have caught the attention of the US govt.

The PIP-II LINAC is a 833 MeV, 30 mA accelerator. That is more than 4 times the MEHIPA's power levels. For the US having us as a partner gives them access to the domestic manufacturing/fabrication base of India & also BARC has significant experience with proton accelerators. For India the PIP-II LINAC is a great stepping-stone for the eventual Indian 1 GeV accelerator. Also, we get to have access to international expertise on linear accelerators & sub-critical reactor design. The stars could not be more aligned.

Screenshot (950).png

The US & Indian govts signed a deal for the joint development of the PIP-II LINAC. BARC is now involved in design & fabrication of almost every part of the PIP-II.

Screenshot (954).png


Almost all sub-projects have an Indian coordinator.

Management team

Our involvement is so big that the U.S. Department of Energy is asking the Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) for updates on this project:

India formally begins construction phase for contributions to Fermilab’s new particle accelerator

Some components supplied from India to the US for this project so far:

SSR1 niobium resonator built by the Inter-University Accelerator Centre:
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1711777928937.png

325 MHz radiofrequency power amplifier for the SSR1 produced by BARC:
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MEBT quadrupole doublet magnet delivered by BARC:
1711778125277.png

continued below....
 
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continued from above...

5-cell 650 MHz superconducting radio frequency cavities produced by RRCAT:
Screenshot (953).png
1711778453745.png

325-MHz spoke resonator cavities also by RRCAT:
1711778528044.png

Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy Sekhar Basu discusses cryogenics with Fermilab engineer Rich Stanek during a visit to the laboratory in 2014. The cryoplant was built by an Indian company based on BARC's design. It was tested by BARC before being sent to the US.
1711778639256.png

@Ashwin @randomradio @Parthu @Ginvincible et al.
 
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Update on the AHWR project. Last update on this was from Dec 2021. I have written about that on post #124 & #127 on page no. 7 of this thread. Read up on those posts for some context.

3 facilities have been built so far for testing the AHWR design. These are:
Screenshot (956).png

The buildings came up in sequence. 1st came the Integral Test Loop facility to test the Main Heat Transport System of the AHWR.
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The Main Heat Transport System transports heat from the reactor core to the overhead mounted steam drums. The steam drums further feed super-heated steam to the turbines.
1713553368417.png
The Integral Test Loop facility will also test the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) of the AHWR & also validate the active safety measures during a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA).

The steam turbine & the rest of the power island equipment will be provided for by BHEL. The turbines are likely going to be derivatives of the turbines used on the IPHWR-220 reactors.
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Then after the Integral Test Loop facility the Post Accident Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (PARTH) facility was built. The purpose of this establishment is to test & validate the passive safety systems of the AHWR & also to test the core catcher function in case of a core meltdown.
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Some other facilities within the ambit of PARTH:
PARTH_AHWR - low_res.png
The validation of main heat transport system, emergency core cooling system, active & passive safety systems etc. has led to the finalisation of the AHWR's core design.
Screenshot (968).png

Thus, with this BARC had reached the final step of the design validation. Building a Critical Facility at BARC for validating the reactor physics design and nuclear data for AHWR.

continued in the next post....
 
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AHWR-CF is a low power research reactor with a nominal electrical power output of 100 W. The aluminium reactor tank houses fuel assemblies and moderator. A square box above the reactor tank houses the lattice girders from which the fuel assemblies are suspended.

The spec sheet of the AHWR-CF looks like this:
Screenshot (969).png
The reference core was initially configured with 55 lattice locations in a lattice pitch of 245 mm, where 49 were occupied by 19 pin natural uranium metal fuel clusters (Th-Pu Oxide, Th-U233 Oxide) and 6 locations with shut-off rods. Later in 2014, the core was extended to 61 locations with 55 locations for fuel cluster for gaining reactivity in order to perform experiments with thoria based fuel.
1713605587024.png
AHWR-CF attained its first criticality on 7th April, 2008. The observed critical height for the Reference core configuration was 226.7 cm which agreed well with the estimated value of 226.5 cm.
1713605726523.png
A large number of reactor physics experiment has been performed in the Reference core of the facility. These experiments ranged from the initial commissioning experiments to various integral and differential measurements. Some of the important experiment carried out at AHWR-CF are as follows:
  1. First approach to criticality of AHWR-CF
  2. Reactor power calibration by absolute flux measurement by activation method
  3. Reactivity worth measurement of six Shut-off Rods and Absorber rod
1713605748106.png
As experiments continued on the AHWR-CF, BARC continued design of the full sized reactor building:
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This is what the final outlay looks like:
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The 1st full sized 300 MWe AHWR is probably going to be located at the BARC's headquarters at Trombay. The have initiated flooding & tsunami danger analysis & mitigation measures.

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They have also initiated seismic damage analysis & mitigation on critical reactor components:
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It is now believed that the detailed plan for the construction of the AHWR-300 has been forwarded to the PMO for approval & funding. BARC believes that they can build & commission the 1st AHWR-300 with in 5-7 years from approval. by then the PFBR would have operated for long enough to build up enough Plutonium for the AHWR-300. Approval will probably not be given until the PFBR has run problem free for some time.
 
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Beside the AHWR & the IADS (see posts #170, #171 & #172) there are 2 other types of reactors under development for the 3rd stage of our nuclear program. These are the Indian Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (IMSBR) & Indian High Temperature Reactor (IHTR). Updates from BARC on those 2 projects:

Indian Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (IMSBR):
"The Indian molten salt breeder reactor (IMSBR) is the platform to burn thorium as part of 3rd stage of Indian nuclear power program. The fuel in IMSBR is in the form of a continuously circulating molten fluoride salt which flows through heat exchangers for ultimately transferring heat for power production to Super-critical CO2 based Brayton cycle (SCBC) so as to have larger energy conversion ratio as compared to existing power conversion cycle. Because of the fluid fuel, online reprocessing is possible, extracting the 233Pa (formed in conversion chain of 232Th to 233U) and allowing it to decay to 233U outside the core, thus making it possible to breed even in thermal neutron spectrum. Hence IMSBR can operate in self sustaining 233U-Th fuel cycle. Additionally, being a thermal reactor, the 233U requirement is lower (as compared to fast spectrum), thus allowing higher deployment potential.

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These reactors require several new technology developments which are being undertaken by BARC. These include Lithium-7 enrichment, salt preparation and purification, salt characterization and chemistry, structural material development and characterization, nuclear grade graphite development and characterization, component development, SCBC and reprocessing for IMSBR. In addition, a dedicated facility, Molten Salt Breeder Reactor Developmental Facility (MSBRDF) is being designed for full scale demonstration of all major systems for the 5 MWth IMSBR. BARC has also developed Ni-Mo-Cr-Ti alloy for the vessel. R&D is being undertaken for fuel salt optimization, characterization, salt preparation, thermal hydraulic and corrosion studies of IMSBRs.
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Test facility for molten fluoride salt purification was installed inside an inert gas glove box. This facility is based on electrochemical purification technique. A system based on 3 electrodes, consisting of a platinum reference electrode, a molybdenum working electrodes and a graphite counter electrode was used. Purification of capital FLiNaK, coolant salt for IMSBR and IHTR was carried out."

Indian High Temperature Reactor (IHTR):
"BARC is also developing the Indian High Temperature Reactor (IHTR) with an aim to provide high temperature process heat for hydrogen production by thermochemical water splitting. This reactor is a molten salt cooled pebble bed type reactor. It uses TRISO type particle fuel made into form of pebbles, cooled with molten fluoride salts. Thus, coolant temperatures up to 665°C can be reached which allows for efficient interface with hydrogen plant. Currently, a 20 MWth IHTR is being designed as demonstration reactor named Compact High Temperature Reactor (CHTR).
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Development of high temperature heat pipes, facility for graphite oxidation studies, TRISO coated particle fuel, fuel pellet fabrication, Niobium alloy and components of test loop, machining of graphite components for IHTR experimental facility, thermal hydraulic studies on coolants have been completed."
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AHWR-300 leads the charge in the 3rd stage reactor race. But the rest of the reactors aren't that far behind.
 
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I hope we will get approval for AHWR soon from PMO, and the site will be selected. What is the power output of an ISMBR reactor? Any idea? @Gautam

Stage 1 - IPHWR 700
Stage 2 - IPFBR 500
Stage 3 - AHWR 300 & ISMBR
 
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@Gautam Thanks for the IHTR information. It is a good alternative for green hydrogen. IPWR 900 also has no updates, except for some news articles.
 
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