India's Most Advanced Nuclear Reactor Approaches Finish Line

This development now marks the use of plutonium as a nuclear fuel and more importantly the first steps at using thorium as an atomic energy source.

India's atomic energy program has crossed a big hurdle, the country's most advanced and most complex nuclear reactor the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) located at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu has finally got approval from India's atomic regulator to start loading the nuclear fuel and then to go ahead and initiate the controlled chain reaction. "It is a huge milestone for India's self-reliant atomic energy program," confirmed Dinesh Kumar Shukla, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board who added that the "PFBR is an inherently safe reactor".

This development now marks the use of plutonium as a nuclear fuel and more importantly the first steps at using thorium as an atomic energy source. India has limited reserves of uranium and all plutonium is anyways generated in atomic plants as natural plutonium does not exist, on the other hand, India has huge reserves of thorium and hence the country is mastering and developing complex technology to use thorium as fuel. Experts say if India can tap thorium as a fuel, the country can be assured of energy independence and find the potential 'akshay patra' for energy that will last for more than three centuries.

A fast breeder reactor is very unique and to a layperson these defy basic logic since breeder reactors produce more fuel than they consume and that is why some describe these reactors as an endless source of energy. The word 'fast' in these reactors comes from the use of high-energy fast neutrons. India has a functional Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam that has been functioning for the last 39 years.