The Hindu Business Line : India eyeing export market for indigenous nuclear reactors

New Delhi, Sept 29 India is actively exploring the possibility of exporting indigenous 220 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) to developing nations that are eyeing nuclear power generation but have small-sized electricity grids.

The Atomic Energy Commission Chairman, Mr Anil Kakodkar, presented the idea at the recently concluded IAEA General Conference of Member States in Vienna, where India subsequently moved a resolution to enable export of indigenous reactors, Government officials involved in the exercise said.

With the possibility of opening up of international civil nuclear cooperation, which would clear the decks for India to enter the global nuclear trade, the potential for export of indigenous reactors and services is being viewed as a viable commercial proposition, an official said.

“Currently, India is perhaps the only country to have an actively working technology, design and infrastructure for manufacture of small reactors with a unit capacity of 220 MWe. These units have a great potential for exports, particularly to nations with small grids that are planning nuclear forays with relatively lower investment levels. An initiative in this regard has been taken by the Indian delegation at the Vienna meet,” an official said.

Also, in the light of India’s relatively low manufacturing costs, there is also a potential for the country to emerge as a manufacturing hub for equipment and services for the global nuclear industry in the long run, once it gains entry into global nuclear commerce.

Globally, the major developers of nuclear reactors in the EU and North America have moved on to larger reactor sizes of 700 MWe or 1,000 MWe and above. India stands out in having an active nuclear power programme using 220 MWe reactors, which is based on proven technology in a number of domestic atomic stations. In all, 12 such 220 MWe PHWR reactors are in operation currently while three more are under construction.

Officials said small size nuclear reactors are apt for countries that have small grids of around 10,000 MW. Use of large reactor units in case of countries having small grids could potentially lead to grid failures if even a single large unit shuts down at any point in time.

Besides, assembling clusters of 220 MWe reactors is projected to be more cost effective than large-sized reactors from the US or Europe, they said. Several Asean countries have been eyeing the nuclear option, with Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand among those having announced plans to tap nuclear energy.

IAEA meet

Even as domestic consensus on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, which seeks to legitimise India’s entry into the global nuclear fraternity and open up avenues for the country’s participation in nuclear trade, is still to emerge, the necessary groundwork is currently underway. In Vienna, on the sidelines of the latest IAEA meet, the US had called for an informal meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) specifically to sound out the 45-nation cartel about the progress on the Indo-US nuclear deal, officials said.

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