{"id":60954,"date":"2025-04-19T09:44:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T09:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/?p=60954"},"modified":"2025-04-19T09:44:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T09:44:49","slug":"indias-first-fast-breeder-reactor-to-be-commissioned-by-2026-a-major-milestone-in-nuclear-power-developmentv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/19\/indias-first-fast-breeder-reactor-to-be-commissioned-by-2026-a-major-milestone-in-nuclear-power-developmentv\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s First Fast Breeder Reactor to be Commissioned by 2026: A Major Milestone in Nuclear Power DevelopmentV"},"content":{"rendered":"

India\u2019s ambitious three-stage nuclear energy programme is set to reach a key milestone as the country\u2019s first Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)<\/strong>, under construction at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu<\/strong>, is expected to be commissioned by 2026<\/strong>, officials from the Department of Atomic Energy have confirmed.<\/p>\n

The 500 MW PFBR<\/strong>, developed by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI)<\/strong>, has entered the advanced stage of integrated commissioning. The reactor is likely to achieve its first criticality<\/strong>\u2014a crucial step in nuclear activation\u2014by 2025-26<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This development marks the second stage<\/strong> of India\u2019s nuclear roadmap, which envisions an energy-secure future through the recycling of spent nuclear fuel<\/strong>. The PFBR is unique\u2014it uses plutonium-based mixed oxide fuel<\/strong> and liquid sodium<\/strong> as a coolant. It is also designed to utilise the spent fuel from Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs)<\/strong>, which currently form the backbone of India\u2019s nuclear infrastructure.<\/p>\n

While the country\u2019s operating nuclear plants fall under the purview of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)<\/strong>, BHAVINI is solely responsible for developing fast breeder technology in India.<\/p>\n

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/strong> witnessed the commencement of core loading<\/strong> at the PFBR. In July 2023, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)<\/strong> granted clearance for fuel loading, initial criticality operations, and low-power physics experiments at the reactor site.<\/p>\n

Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) are a critical component of India\u2019s long-term nuclear vision. They will eventually feed into the third stage of the programme, which involves thorium-based reactors<\/strong>, exploiting India\u2019s vast thorium reserves to generate sustainable and clean energy.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s Expanding Nuclear Ambitions<\/h3>\n

India currently has an installed nuclear power capacity of 8.18 GW<\/strong>. Projects totaling 7.30 GW<\/strong> are under active construction or in the commissioning phase, while another 7.00 GW<\/strong> has been sanctioned and is undergoing pre-project activities. The government aims to scale up this capacity to 22.48 GW by 2031-32<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Looking further ahead, NPCIL has laid out plans to add:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    15.40 GW<\/strong> through indigenous PHWRs<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    17.60 GW<\/strong> through Light Water Reactors (LWRs)<\/strong> in collaboration with foreign partners<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    3.80 GW<\/strong> via BHAVINI\u2019s Fast Breeder Reactors<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Additional capacity through Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)<\/strong> and Bharat Small Reactors<\/strong>, to be developed with private sector participation<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    As part of its nuclear energy mission<\/strong>, the Indian government has set a target of 100 GW<\/strong> electricity generation from nuclear sources in the coming decades, positioning the country as a global leader in advanced nuclear technologies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    India\u2019s ambitious three-stage nuclear energy programme is set to reach a key milestone as the country\u2019s first Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), under construction at Kalpakkam…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60954","post","has-post-thumbnail","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60956,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60954\/revisions\/60956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}