| NEWS India’s fast breeder Fuel loading at


round up


NEW BUILD AT UNIT 8 of China’s Tianwan NPP Rosatom has installed the lower part of the dome of the internal containment. The total weight of the structure was 375.5 tonnes. The hermetic shell of the reactor building will now be installed and concreted, and installation of the main equipment – reactor vessel, steam generators, and the main circulation pipeline will begin.


Above: India has a policy of indigenous nuclear power development and will be only the second country after Russia to have a commercially operating fast breeder reactor Photo credit: PradeepGaurs/Shutterstock.com


Fuel loading has begun at the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. The PFBR is a 500 MWe sodium-cooled fast breeder nuclear reactor being constructed at Kokkilamedu, near Kalpakkam. The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) designed the reactor based on the decades of experience gained from operating the lower power Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR). The PFBR has been developed by BHAVINI


(Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited), a government enterprise set up in 2003 under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to focus on fast breeder reactors. Construction began in 2004 and the reactor was originally expected to be completed in September 2010, but has faced a series of delays. It is now scheduled to be put into service in December 2024. As a result of the delays, the project’s cost has doubled from INR 35bn ($422m) to INR77bn ($926m). Fast breeder reactors form the second stage


of India’s three-stage nuclear programme. India has adopted a three-stage nuclear power programme, with the long-term goal of deploying a thorium-based closed nuclear fuel cycle. The first stage is based on pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), fuelled by natural uranium, and light water reactors. The second stage involves reprocessing used fuel from the first stage to recover the plutonium to fuel FBRs. In the final stage, Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs) will burn thorium- plutonium fuels and breed fissile uranium-233. A DAE statement said: “In line with the true spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat [Indian self- reliance], PFBR has been fully designed and constructed indigenously by BHAVINI with significant contribution from more than 200 Indian industries including MSMEs [micro, small


and medium enterprises]. Once commissioned, India will only be the second country after Russia to have a commercial operating Fast Breeder Reactor.” The PFBR will initially use the uranium-


plutonium mixed oxide (mox) fuel. The uranium-238 ‘blanket’ surrounding the core will undergo nuclear transmutation to ‘breed’ more fuel. The use of Thorium-232, which in itself is not a fissile material, is also envisaged as a blanket in this stage. Thorium, through transmutation will produce fissile uranium-233 which will be used as fuel in the third stage. “The FBR is thus a stepping stone for the third stage of the programme paving the way for the eventual full utilisation of lndia’s abundant thorium reserves,” DAE noted. The PFBR is an advanced third generation


reactor with inherent passive safety features ensuring a prompt and safe shut down of the plant in the event of an emergency. Since it burns used fuel from the first stage of the programme, the FBR also reduces the amount of nuclear waste generated, avoiding the need for large geological disposal facilities. Upon completion of the core loading, the first


approach to criticality will be achieved, leading to generation of power subsequently. “The growth of the Indian nuclear power programme is imperative to meet the twin goals of energy security and sustainable development,” said DAE. “As a responsible nuclear power with advanced technology, India remains committed to expand peaceful applications of nuclear technology, both in power and non-power sector, while ensuring the security of nuclear and radiological materials.” DAE added that, despite the advanced


technology involved, both the capital cost and the per unit electricity cost is comparable to other nuclear and conventional power plants. ■


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WORK HAS BEGUN to install the first tier of the inner containment (VZO) for unit 1 of the El Dabaa NPP under construction in Egypt by specialists from general contractor Atomstroyexport (ASE – part of Rosatom). The VZO is a cylindrical structure of reinforced concrete with a hemispherical dome, which houses the nuclear reactor and the equipment of the primary circuit of the nuclear plant. It plays a pivotal role in preventing any radioactive material from leaking into the surrounding environment.


ROSATOM HAS COMPLETED welding of the main circulation pipeline (GTsT) at unit 2 of Russia’s Kursk-II NPP. The GTsT connects the main equipment of the reactor unit into a single technological system, forming the primary circuit. It comprises 20 components with a total weight of more than 250 tonnes connected by welded joints. Kursk II will replace the RBMK reactors currently operating Kursk NPP with VVER-TOI reactors.


FOLLOWING TALKS IN Budapest, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, and Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade Peter Szijjártó confirmed that work on the construction of new power units at the Paks NPP (Paks-II) is proceeding at a rapid pace. The Paks II project was launched in 2014 by an inter-governmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors (units 5&6) to be supplied by Rosatom. The contract was supported by a Russian state loan to finance the majority of the project.


PLANT OPERATION ARGENTINA’S NUCLEAR REGULATORY Authority (ARN) has granted a renewed operating licence for unit 2 of the Atucha nuclear power plant to nuclear utility Nucleoeléctrica Argentina SA. The licence is valid until May 2026 marking the end of the first 10 years of operation of the plant.


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