DAE to construct new 300 MW Advanced Heavy Water Reactor(AHWR)

Kalpakkam, June 12 (UNI) The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) will construct a new 300 MW Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) using Uranium-233 as fuel for Nuclear Energy production.

Talking to newspersons after the inauguration of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) here, its Director and Atomic Energy Commission Member Dr Srikumar Banerjee said.

''The place and the state where it will be located will be finalised after considering various aspects.'' The fourth generation reactor would be highly competitive when compared to those in foreign countries and would have sophisticated safety features. ''The technological and safety aspects will be far superior and sophisticated as the reactor need not require a primary coolant pump. Since it will have inbuilt safety features which will ensure that there is no necessity of intervention from outside, the 1.6 km exclusive zone may not be necessary. We want to make a case for it'', Dr Banerjee said.

The 100 per cent indigenous reactor has crossed the conceptualisation stage. The design of the reactor has been sent for a peer review and various components are being tested and reviewed.

The primary safety features have been sent to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board for approval.

Since the reactor was one of the innovative concept, it was submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the Innovative Reactors programme, under which such concepts would be received worldwide and discussed.

''Some preliminary cost factors have been worked. The total cost of the reactor will be known only after identifying its location,'' Dr Banerjee said and added that the new reactor would not come under IAEA safeguards as it would be built with indigenous technology.

To a question, he said Natural Uranium was used as fuel in the first stage to get sufficient quantity of Plutonium for use in Fast Breeder Reactors. Using the excess neutron availability, plutonium would be converted to Uranium 233, which would be used as the fuel for future reactors.

''The AHWR will have U233 as fuel for energy production'', he added.

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