India's first prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu is expected to start in September next year. This reactor will start the second phase of the country's three-stage nuclear project, which aims to recycle radioactive waste and produce electricity.

The reactor was designed by the Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR). It is the first nuclear reactor of its kind that will use plutonium-based mixed oxide as fuel and liquid sodium for cooling. It will also use the spent fuel of pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), which are currently the mainstay of nuclear power in India. Nuclear power plants in the country are operated by the government company Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) while the PFBR at Kalpakkam is being developed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (Bhavini). The capacity of this reactor is 500 MW and it is in its final stage. Hopefully, it will start generating electricity by 2025-26. The reactor is expected to be fully operational by September 2026.

PM Modi visited last year

Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the launch of core loading at the nuclear reactor in March last year. Last July, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) granted permission for refuelling of the PFBR, first approach to criticality and conducting low-power physics experiments.1