Perumal Chellapandi, the chairman and managing director of an Indian company said that the first prototype fast breeder reactor (FBR), with a capacity of some 500MW, was expected to start operations in Kalpakkam next year.

India is planning to construct six fast breeder reactors (FBR), generating more fissile material than consumed due to fast neutron technology, in the country over the next 15 years, the chairman and managing director of an Indian company responsible for construction of the FBRs said.

"The site selection committee is choosing some places and are studying suitable size [of the FBRs]. Immediate vision is to construct two FBRs at [the southern Indian city of] Kalpakkam and four more beyond 2030," Perumal Chellapandi of Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) said on Tuesday, as quoted by the NDTV television channel.

He added that the first prototype FBR, with a capacity of some 500MW, was expected to start operations in Kalpakkam next year.

Currently, there are 21 nuclear reactors in India with a capacity of 5,780MW. Eight of them run on fuel the country produces itself, while the rest use imported uranium fuel from Russia, Uzbekistan, Canada and Kazakhstan.

Only a few countries possess fast neutron reactor technology, with Russia leading in this field. Such reactors are believed to be able to significantly improve the safety of the nuclear power industry as well as making it more competitive.

Source: Sputnik News