Kapakkam (Tamil Nadu), Jan 26 (IANS) The Indira Gandhi Centre of Atomic Research (IGCAR) will soon work on higher capacity reactors after two more 500MW fast breeder reactors were approved by the government at Kalpakkam, its director said Tuesday.
“Work on setting up the two new 500MW fast breeder reactors will start in 2014. This will be in addtion to the upcoming fast reactor of similar capacity. In future, we will be looking at 1,000MW reactors,” IGCAR director Baldev Raj told at Kalpakkam, 80 km from here, on the sidelines of the valedictory function for the vocational training course on non-destructive testing.

A fast breeder reactor is one which breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes and is key to India’s three-stage nuclear power programme.

The IGCAR designed 500MW fast reactor is being built at Kalpakkam by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (Bhavini).

According to Raj, the civil work for the project is almost complete and the reactor will be commissioned next October.

He said the world is keenly looking at the prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) and India is a special invitee at the nuclear energy summit to be held in Vienna in March.