Lok Sabha Question No. 3864 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-08-12
Subject: Thorium Based Reactors
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: SHOBHA KARANDLAJE, CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI, SANJAY JAISWAL, P.P. CHAUDHARY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3864

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.08.2015

## THORIUM BASED REACTORS

3864.   KUMARI  SHOBHA  KARANDLAJE: SHRI  CHANDRA  PRAKASH  JOSHI: DR. SANJAY JAISWAL: SHRI  P.P. CHAUDHARY:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  development  of  thorium  based  nuclear  power  plants/atomic  reactors  has been envisioned to meet the growing demand of energy in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether Research and Development of the thorium based nuclear power plants is totally indigenous with little support from the foreign countries and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether nuclear energy/power is one of the cleanest forms of large scale generation of electricity and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the  status  of  the  300  MWe  Advanced  Heavy  Water  Reactor  (AHWR)  being developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the time by which it is likely to be commissioned?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (Dr. JITENDRA SINGH) :

- (a) For the large growing population of our country, it is  important to  have  a  vision  of energy independence, implying the necessity for meeting the energy demands using indigenous  resources  to  the  maximum  extent.    With  this  perspective,  utilisation  of very large resources of Thorium available in the country has been envisioned as an important element of the Indian nuclear power programme.

On  account  of  non-existence  of  any  fissile  isotope  in  naturally  occurring  Thorium (unlike that existing in Uranium), commercial utilisation of Thorium, on a significant scale,  can  begin  only  when  abundant  supply  of  either  Uranium  or  Plutonium resources  are  available.    Upon  the  launch,  followed  by  a  significant  growth  of  a thorium based nuclear programme in this manner, it could be possible to maintain the achieved   level (without much further growth) of nuclear power programme with

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thorium  alone,  without  additional  demands  on  uranium  or  plutonium  resources. Therefore, considering the meager domestic uranium resources in the country, it is feasible to start a significant commercial level Thorium based reactor programme in our country only after an adequate inventory of Plutonium becomes available from our  Fast  Breeder  Reactors,  comprising  the  second  stage  of  Indian  nuclear  power programme.    Accordingly,  the  utilisation  of  Thorium,  as  a  practically  inexhaustible energy source, has been contemplated during the third stage of the Indian nuclear programme, which can be reached after a few decades.

- (b) At present, the interest of the foreign countries in Thorium based nuclear power is generally  limited  to  utilisation  of  Thorium  for  disposal  of  Plutonium  obtained  after reprocessing of spent fuel from current generation nuclear power plants.  From this perspective,  the  Indian  vision  of  speedily  maximising  the  potential  of  plutonium received from spent nuclear fuel through FBRs, followed by Thorium based energy systems, is different with respect to some ongoing initiatives that are seen in some parts of the world.  Currently, India is one of the leading countries with well-advanced thorium utilisation technologies, developed indigenously.
- (c) On account of no emission of green house gases in the generation of electricity using nuclear power, nuclear power is one of the cleanest forms of large scale electricity generation.    Thorium  based  power  generation  also  would,  therefore,  qualify  for treatment as a clean source of energy.
- (d) The  300  Mwe  Advanced  Heavy  Water  Reactor  (AHWR)  being  developed  by  the Bhabha  Atomic  Research  Centre  will  serve  as  a  technology  demonstrator  for  the Thorium fuel cycle technologies.  This reactor has been included in the XII Five Year Plan for initiation of activities towards its construction.  The reactor, being the first of its kind is likely to take about ten years for completion of its construction.

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