India to export n-reactors
Mumbai, Sept. 22: India is poised to become a global player in the nuclear industry business by offering a variety of options to countries requiring cost-competitive and proven technology such as pressurised heavy water reactors (PWHR), a top official said on Wednesday.
Addressing the 54th general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna on Wednesday, Atomic Energy Commission chairman, Mr Srikumar Banerjee, said that the Indian PHWRs offer a basket of options for countries looking for cost-competitive and proven technologies in small and mid-sized reactors.
Accordingly, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is ready to offer PHWRs of 220 MWe or 540 MWe capacity for exports.
Indian industry is not only poised to make a bigger contribution to India’s own nuclear programme, but also is on the way to becoming a competitive supplier in the global market with regard to special steels, large-sized forgings, control instruments, software, other nuclear components and services, Mr Banerjee said.
In this context, he mentioned that India is in the process of setting up a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, which would provide a forum for joint work with international partners in areas of topical interest.
Mr Banerjee added that the government had granted in-principle approval to five energy parks at five coastal sites in India. Each such park would be populated with a number of water-cooled reactors to be constructed through international co-operation, he said.
These would enable India to expand its installed nuclear power capacity to about 60GWe by 2032, even as the global nuclear power generation is expected to touch 500 GWe by 2030. International cooperation will not only provide an addition to India’s own programme in meeting immediate requirements but also fill up the energy deficit in the coming decades through the operation of the closed fuel cycle, said Mr Banerjee.
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