India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is collaborating with Tata Consulting Engineers to redesign indigenously developed 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) as Bharat small modular reactors (SMRs). Tata Consulting Engineers CEO Amit Sharma said the plan is to “take the old design of the PHWR and then reconfigure and redesign it to be modular, scalable, and safety-aligned to post-Fukushima standards”. The aim is to produce 40-50 reactors within 7-8 years.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her July Union budget announced that the Centre would partner with the private sector to establish Bharat Small Reactors and for research and development of SMRs.
Engineers are set to redesign the PHWR using advanced 3D design platforms that were not available four decades ago when these reactors were initially developed. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has so far constructed 16 220 MWe PHWRs, two 540 MWe PHWRs, and two 700 MWe PHWRs. An additional 14 700 MWe PHWRs are under various stages of implementation, and should be commissioned progressively by March 2032.
Tata Consulting Engineers has been working on various power projects and has an 85% market share in nuclear engineering services. It has been connected to DAE for many years.
