All posts tagged: reactors

HALEU-Thorium fuel unsuitable for Indian nuclear reactors: study

HALEU-Thorium fuel unsuitable for Indian nuclear reactors: study

Published by Parlour News

An indigenous pressurised heavy water reactor under construction at Kakrapar, Gujarat, 2016. | Photo Credit: Reetesh Chaurasia (CC BY-SA) Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) researchers have reported that a new kind of nuclear fuel, touted for being able to allow India to take advantage of its vast thorium reserves, will not fit in the country’s three-stage programme and could entail expensive reactor redesigns. The study was published in Current Science. The composition the team evaluated is called HALEU-Thorium. It is the basis for “Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life”, or ANEEL, a fuel that the state-owned NTPC, Ltd. and the U.S.-based company Clean Core Thorium Energy are currently exploring. India’s long-term nuclear energy plan has three stages. In the ongoing first stage, India is using pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) using natural uranium. However, India has much less access to uranium than thorium, so the next two stages are designed to transition to using more thorium. ANEEL mixes thorium with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which contains uranium enriched to 5-20%. Its proponents have suggested ANEEL …

India, France unveil AI roadmap, partnership for small nuclear reactors | Latest News India

India, France unveil AI roadmap, partnership for small nuclear reactors | Latest News India

Published by Parlour News

NEW DELHI: India and France on Wednesday launched a joint road map for developing safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron explored ways to ramp up cooperation in science and innovation under the bilateral strategic partnership. French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit the Mazargues cemetery to remember Indian soldiers killed in World War One as part of a visit in Marseille, France, on February 12. (REUTERS) The two countries also unveiled a partnership on advanced modular reactors (AMRs) and small modular reactors (SMRs), a civil nuclear energy sector that has been in focus as nations try to meet the needs of energy-guzzling AI data centres, and other steps to bolster civil nuclear cooperation. The India-France road map on AI will focus on the “development of safe, open, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence”, according to a joint statement. The India-France Declaration on Artificial Intelligence, one of the key outcomes of the Modi-Macron meeting, said the two countries will focus on AI norms …

India, France To Jointly Develop Advanced Nuclear Reactors

India, France To Jointly Develop Advanced Nuclear Reactors

Published by Webster

New Delhi: India and France on Wednesday expressed an intent to jointly develop modern nuclear reactors, emphasising that nuclear power was crucial for energy security and transition to a low-carbon economy. The two countries signed a letter of intent on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), according to a joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. SMRs are compact nuclear fission reactors that can be manufactured in factories and then installed elsewhere. They typically have a smaller capacity, of less than 300 Megawatts, than conventional nuclear reactors. “Prime Minister Modi and President Macron stressed that nuclear energy is an essential part of the energy mix for strengthening energy security and transitioning towards a low-carbon economy. Both leaders acknowledged the India-France civil nuclear ties and efforts in cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, notably in relation with the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant Project. They welcomed the first meeting of the Special Task Force on Civil Nuclear Energy, and welcomed the signing of a …

Govt sets up new nuclear mission, Rs 20k crore for small modular reactors R&D | India News

Govt sets up new nuclear mission, Rs 20k crore for small modular reactors R&D | India News

Published by Parlour News

In one of the biggest moves to expand nuclear energy sector, the government on Saturday set up a new mission to develop small modular nuclear reactors, and set a target of operationalising at least five such reactors in the next eight years. In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also promised to amend the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to accelerate private sector participation in building and operating nuclear power plants. Sitharaman had expressed such an intention in last year’s budget itself, but she had not revealed the details of the government’s plan on nuclear power generation. Her announcements this year are more substantial and concrete. Story continues below this ad She said the government would set up a Nuclear Energy Mission worth ₹20,000 crore for research and development of small modular reactors (SMRs), and promised that at least five such indigenously developed SMRs would be operationalised by 2033. SMRs, as the name suggests, are small nuclear reactors that typically produce less than 300 MW of electricity. Conventional …

How Safe Are India’s Nuclear Reactors? What Global Watchdog Chief Said

How Safe Are India’s Nuclear Reactors? What Global Watchdog Chief Said

Published by Webster

Davos: India’s nuclear reactors are “absolutely safe” as it applies the highest levels of safety standards to its civil nuclear programme, the chief of global nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has told NDTV. In an interview on the sidelines of Davos 2025, IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi was asked how safe India’s nuclear reactors are. ”Absolutely safe. India applies to its civilian nuclear programme the highest levels of internationally agreed and IAEA established nuclear safety standards and security guidance,” he replied. On India’s fast-breeder nuclear reactor programme, the first of which is being developed at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, Grossi said, “It could be an interesting add-on to its fleet.” India has imposed a voluntarily moratorium on nuclear explosive testing since the Pokhran tests in 1998. Asked if New Delhi would be within its rights to test if China or Pakistan went ahead with nuclear tests, Gross replied, ”Our position and the position of the international community is that we should move to a general ban on nuclear testing so we hope …

In Major Push For Nuclear Power, India Asks States To Set Up Reactors

In Major Push For Nuclear Power, India Asks States To Set Up Reactors

Published by Webster

New Delhi: India has ambitious plans to set up nuclear reactors across the country, especially in states where thermal power plants have either completed its life, or where access to coal is a challenge. With its focus on clean energy, India aims to reduce its dependence fossil fuels, and for this, the central government has now asked states to set up nuclear power plants. India’s Power Minister, Manohar Lal, on Tuesday chaired the Conference of Power Ministers of States & Union Territories where he asked states that are distant from coal resources to set up nuclear-based power plants. The move has also been made keeping in mind the rapidly-growing demand for electricity in the country. In the Union Budget, the central government had proposed to partner with private investors to set up small-scale nuclear reactors to meet its growing energy demands. “States should consider setting up nuclear power plants at the sites where coal-based thermal power plants have completed their life,” the Union Minister told state governments as per a statement issued by the Centre. …

10 New Nuclear Reactors Underway In India, Parliamentary Panel Informed

10 New Nuclear Reactors Underway In India, Parliamentary Panel Informed

Published by Webster

The Kakrapar nuclear reactors in Gujarat have been told to be fully synchronised with the grid. (File) New Delhi: At least 10 nuclear reactors are being installed in the country while two reactors in Gujarat’s Kakrapar have started generating power commercially, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology was informed on Monday. According to sources, the new nuclear reactors coming up in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana are of 700 MW capacity and will start operating in the next few years. The details of the new nuclear reactors were provided to the members of the Standing Committee of Parliament on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change during a meeting here. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who is a member of the committee as well as its former chairman, said members of the panel were informed during the meeting that the Kakrapar-3 and Kakrapar-4 nuclear reactors in Gujarat have been fully synchronised with the grid and are generating power commercially. “This is a major accomplishment since these are indigenously designed 700-megawatt reactors that …

Google inks nuclear deal for next-generation reactors

Google inks nuclear deal for next-generation reactors

Published by Webster

Google plans to buy electricity from next-generation nuclear reactors. It announced the deal yesterday, which it says is the world’s first corporate agreement to purchase electricity from advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) that are still under development. Google inked the deal with engineering company Kairos Power, which plans to get its first SMR up and running by 2030. Google agreed to purchase electricity from “multiple” reactors that would get built through 2035. Google needs a lot more clean energy to meet its climate goals while pursuing its AI ambitions. New nuclear technologies are still unproven at scale, but the hope is that they can provide carbon pollution-free electricity while solving some of the problems that come with traditional nuclear power plants. “The trajectory of AI investments has added to the scale of the task needed.” “Obviously, the trajectory of AI investments has added to the scale of the task needed,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in an interview with Nikkei earlier this month. “We are now looking at additional investments, be it solar, and evaluating technologies like small modular …