Nuclear Energy Mission & Three-Stage Nuclear
Programme
Prelims:
Science & Technology, Environment
Mains:
GS Paper III-Science and Technology, Energy
Current
relevance:
India has taken a significant step towards
strengthening its long-term energy security by simultaneously advancing the Nuclear
Energy Mission (NEM) and the Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme.
Highlights:
Nuclear
Energy Mission (NEM):
1.
The Nuclear Energy Mission (NEM) was
announced in the Union Budget 2025–26 with the objective of achieving 100
GWe nuclear power generation capacity by 2047 to support Viksit
Bharat and India's Net Zero target by 2070.
2. The
mission also aims to develop and operationalise at least five indigenous
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) by 2033.
Three-Stage Nuclear Power
Programme:
1.
India follows a closed fuel cycle, where
spent fuel from one stage becomes fuel for the next.
2.
The success of this
strategy depends on the sequential development of all three stages. While the first
stage has already been mastered, the country has recently crossed a
historic milestone by entering the second stage.
3.
Stage I – Pressurised
Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs)
Natural uranium is used as fuel in PHWRs to
generate power. The spent fuel from these reactors produces plutonium,
which becomes the primary input for the next stage.
4.
Stage II – Fast Breeder
Reactors (FBRs)
i.
The Prototype
Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam,TN marks India's entry
into this stage. These reactors will be used to breed Uranium-233 from thorium,
laying the groundwork for Stage 3.
ii.
The PFBR uses Uranium-Plutonium Mixed Oxide
(MOX) fuel.
iii.
The reactor is designed
to eventually use Thorium-232 in the blanket. Through transmutation,
Thorium-232 will be converted into Uranium-233, the fuel that will power
India's third stage of nuclear energy based on thorium.
iv.
Closed Fuel Cycle: The spent
fuel generated by the PFBR will be reprocessed and recycled back into the
reactor. This closes the second-stage fuel cycle and paves the way for
large-scale use of India's abundant thorium reserves in Stage 3.
5.
Stage III – Thorium-Based
Nuclear Power:
i.
This stage will harness
India's vast thorium reserves at scale, using the Uranium-233 bred in Stage
2 as fuel. Thorium is considered a practically vast energy source and this
stage holds the key to India's long-term energy security.
ii.
For large-scale
commercial deployment of thorium, conventional reactor technologies alone may
not be sufficient. Therefore, the Department of Atomic Energy is
simultaneously developing advanced reactor systems capable of
efficiently utilizing thorium.
Source: PIB - https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2288294®=48&lang=1