"We have reached a stage where we can sell 500 MWe fast breeder reactors to the world," said Baldev Raj, director, Indira Gandhi Centre For Atomic Research in India
- Edited By Tom Lamar -
According to news reports, India has declared its intention to sell fast breeder reactors to other countries, making it the first country in the world to propose the sale of such technology.
"We have reached a stage where we can sell 500 MWe fast breeder reactors to the world," Baldev Raj, director, Indira Gandhi Centre For Atomic Research told Deccan Chronicle on Tuesday. "Scientifically and technologically, we have mastered the art of FBR building," he added.
But he was quick to point out that such a sale could not materialize in the near future because Indian fast breeder reactors do not come under the safety regulations and purview of the International Atomic Energy Agency or the Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation deal.
Mr Raj, the main brain behind the country's FBR program, explained that these unique reactors generate fuel as well as power. "They generate more fuel than they consume. We have incorporated more than three decades of our learning and research into these reactors and they are truly reactors of the future," he said.
"One should be able to put on or switch off a reactor whenever one wants to. If you can master that, well, you are the master of reactor building. We envisage FBRs like that," he explained after addressing delegates at ANUP-2010, Asian Nuclear Prospects-2010, being held at Mahabalipuram.
The 500 MWe FBR being built at Kalpakkam is fully indigenous. "The past five years have been a learning process for us. Every day and every hour we learnt a lot. These experience and expertise will come handy for us to build the next reactors," said Mr. Raj.
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