7 months ago
India Accelerates Thorium-Based Nuclear Power for Energy Independence
India is working on a plan to use thorium, which it has a lot of, to make nuclear power.
Right now, it uses uranium, which it has to import.
The plan has three steps.
First, it uses uranium to make electricity and plutonium.
Second, it uses the plutonium to make more fuel.
Finally, it wants to use thorium to make uranium-233 for long-term energy.
A scientist named Anil Kakodkar says that since India can now buy uranium from other countries, it can start making uranium-233 faster.
This will help India become more self-sufficient in energy.
To do this, India needs to build more reactors and get more money and new players involved.
Imported reactors can help, but India should focus on developing its own advanced technologies.
India aims to accelerate its transition to thorium-based nuclear power to secure energy independence.
The three-stage nuclear program involves using uranium to eventually convert thorium into uranium-233.
With access to imported uranium, India can start producing uranium-233 at scale in PHWRs.
Scaling up PHWR capacity to 50-75 GWe by 2047 will require significant financial resources and new players.
Imported Light Water Reactors (LWRs) are seen as additional but not a priority over developing indigenous technologies.
- Who
- India's Atomic Energy Commission and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL)
- What
- India is accelerating its transition to thorium-based nuclear power to secure energy independence.
- Where
- India
- When
- The target for scaling up PHWR capacity is 2047.
- Why
- To reduce dependence on imported uranium and leverage vast thorium reserves.
Key facts
- Primary Category
- TECHNOLOGY
- Secondary Category
- Nuclear Energy
- Tertiary Category
- Thorium-Based Power
- Quaternary Category
- India's Energy Strategy
- Key Figure
- Anil Kakodkar
- Current Uranium Source
- Imported
- Target Nuclear Power Capacity
- 100GWe
- Potential PHWR Capacity
- 50-75 GWe by 2047
- Fuel Cost for LWR
- Rs 350 crore per annum
- Fuel Efficiency
- PHWRs more efficient in mined uranium usage
Quotes
Anil Kakodkar
Former Atomic Energy Commission chairman, Chancellor of the Homi Bhabha National Institute, and Chairman of the Rajiv Gandhi Science & Technology Commission
“Transitioning to thorium-based nuclear power generation is critical to securing energy independence. This requires building sufficient inventory of fissile U233 (uranium 233) through irradiation of thorium. Since our assessed domestic uranium resources when the three-stage programme was formulated were modest, the required irradiation capacity was not possible. Building such capacity through fast reactors, which can multiply through breeding of fissile fuel, was thus essential.”
indianexpress.com
“Now that we can access uranium from the international market, the thermal reactor capacity is on a growth path, with the Nuclear Energy Mission targeting 100GWe nuclear power capacity, with PHWRs constituting the bulk. This scale-up is clearly an opportunity to start producing fissile U233 at scale in PHWRs and enable a faster transition to thorium-based nuclear power generation. It is indeed possible to have Thorium-HALEU based drop-in fuel for PHWRs, which would also lead to economic, safety and security benefits while efficiently converting thorium to U233.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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