India designs next generation reactors

Apr 6, 2007, 15:55 GMT

Kalpakkam, April 6 (IANS) India has started designing its next generation fast breeder reactors (FBRs), scientists said here Friday.

These FBRs will also have the capability of using metallic fuels, they said.

'By 2020, India will emerge as the leader in fast breeder technology,' said Baldev Raj, director Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).

Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd's first indigenous FBR in its Kalpakkam site is scheduled to go critical by September 2010.

'Work on this is progressing rapidly and the safety vessel for the reactor and the sodium tank will be in place in about a month's time,' the IGCAR director told the media here.

This first reactor, with a capability for 500 MW, will be using mixed oxide as fuel - which is oxides of plutonium and uranium.

This project may get completed before 2010, but the IGCAR director was cautious and said, 'We don't want costs to go up and we want the high capacity of production to sustain. We therefore don't want to hurry about going critical.'

India has begun designing four other FBRs, two of which will come up at the Department of Atomic Energy's (DAE's) Kalpakkam campus. The locations of the other two have not yet been decided.

These four new breeder reactors 'will use mixed oxides but will have the capability to switch to metallic fuels, and research in this area has already begun', said Raj.

Russia, Japan, Germany Sweden and USA are also studying liquid metal fuels for small reactors, especially lead, sodium and bismuth technologies. Liquid metal fuels are said to be safer and long storing.

'By 2020 we want to be able to generate 2,500 MW and for that the designs for the four additional FBRs have to be ready by 2009,' said Raj.

The IGCAR director was speaking to the media on the sidelights of the collaborative meeting of technical delegations from India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) on science and technology.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service