India’s indigenous 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) design is being modified and converted to Bharat Small Reactors, preparatory to being transferred to the private sector, said Dr Ravi B Grover, a member of the Atomic Energy Commission in Ahmedabad and an Emeritus Professor at Homi Bhabha National Institute in Mumbai. He was speaking at IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on the sidelines of an event to launch the report on net zero emissions transition for India.
“India already has a live 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor design. We have a number of them working in the country including Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Rajasthan, Kakrapar (Gujarat), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Kaiga (Karnataka) and so on,” he noted. “This particular design is being modified and converted as Bharat Small Reactors… In other words, Bharat Small Reactors are nothing but 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors with some improvements.”
He added that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is in the process of making drawings for this. The modification is minimal, and change is incremental, he said. “It is not a new design (but) an existing and proven design. Other countries are trying to reinvent the whole thing. We already have it available, and the Department of Atomic Energy is ready to team (up) with the private sector and install them.”
He said NPCIL would design, install and operate these reactors for private companies that are looking for a captive power plant that can produce hydrogen for industrial use, or electricity. As to the safety features of the reactors, “The new 220 MWe will also have a steel liner and the control and instrumentation will be replaced. It is already a safe reactor, and it will become safer.” He said the modifications will not take more than a year to implement.
During the Budget speech for financial year 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government would partner with the private sector to set up Bharat Small Reactors (BSR) as well as engage in research and development of Bharat Small Modular Reactor or BSMR.
The PHWR technology in India was developed in co-operation with Canada. In the 1960s, the construction of the first 220 MWe reactor began as unit 1 at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station. However, after India’s nuclear weapons tests in 1974, Canada withdrew its support and India developed and standardised the design itself.
