India on course to attain global leadership in fast breeder by 2020

Mumbai, Nov 25 (UNI) India is well on course to attain global leadership position in fast breeder reactor technology by 2020, by when the four 500 Mwe fast breeder reactors will be in operation.

Speaking at the 19th annual conference of Indian Nuclear Society here on Realisation of Fast Breeder Technology in India, Dr Baldev Raj, Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam, near Chennai, said the first 500 Mwe fast breeder reactor (FBR) would be commissioned as scheduled in 2010.

He said the successful operation of Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), whose life has been extended by another 20 years, and experience gained through construction of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor, were giving confidence to fulfil the mission of the Department of Atomic Energy to attain a leadership position in FBR Technology by 2020.

Dr Raj said the FBR technology, which was once given up world over, was gaining currency once again with France, the US and Japan making a united effort in this regard.

He said in terms of providing clear, viable and sustainable energy and effective utilisation of available nuclear resources, the development of FBR with closed fuel cycle was an inevitable option for India. FBR was exdpected to contribute about 275 Gwe by 2052.

He said the work on the prototype reactor began on 2003 and it would be ready for commissioning by 2010.

The civil work had been completed and other components had reached the site for erection. The designed plant life for the reactor was 40 years with at least 75 per cent load factor to be successively enhanced to 85 per cent.

Simultaneously, with the construction of the reactor, the fuel cycle of the reactor had been addressed in a comprehensive manner and constrution of a colocated fuel cycle facility had been initiated.

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