Why in the News?

Union Finance Minister announced a dedicated Nuclear Energy Mission; one of the biggest moves to expand nuclear energy sector with an allocation of a 20,000 crore in the Union Budget 2025-26.

About the Nuclear Energy Mission

• Target: To achieve 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, aligning with its long-term energy transition strategy and broader "Viksit Bharat" vision.
  • India's installed nuclear energy capacity is 8180 MW as of January 30, 2025. The government plans to increase this to 22,480 MW by 2031-32.
• Aim: For research and development of small modular reactors (SMRs), and setting up of at least five SMRs by 2033.
• Private Sector Participation: Proposed changes to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, aim to encourage private sector involvement in nuclear energy projects.
  • Partnerships with the private sector with the motive of: Setting up Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs), Research & development of Bharat Small Modular Reactor, and Research & development of newer technologies for nuclear energy.
  • In addition to BSRs, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is developing Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for repurposing retiring coal-based power plants and meeting power needs in remote locations.
• Indigenous Technology Development: The mission emphasizes the development of BSRs, which are compact 220 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) designed for captive use.
  • The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) also plans to introduce new nuclear reactors, including high-temperature gas-cooled reactors for hydrogen co-generation and molten salt reactors aimed at utilizing India's abundant thorium resources.
• Help in energy transition: India's commitment to achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy generation by 2030 and meeting 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030, as pledged at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in 2021.

What are Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)?

• Definition: Small modular reactors (SMRs) are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of up to 300 MW (e) per unit, which is about one-third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors. SMRs, which can produce a large amount of low-carbon electricity, are:
  • Small: Physically a fraction of the size of a conventional nuclear power reactor. 
  • Modular: Making it possible for systems and components to be factory-assembled and transported as a unit to a location for installation.
  • Reactors: Harnessing nuclear fission to generate heat to produce energy. 

Significance of SMR Nuclear Energy 

• Compact Architecture and Passive Safety: There is less reliance on active safety systems and additional pumps, as well as AC power for accident mitigation.
  • US based NuScale's SMR design includes passive cooling systems that eliminate the need for external electricity during emergencies.
• Flexibility in Applications: SMRs can be used for diverse applications such as electricity generation, industrial heat supply, and desalination.
  • South Korea's SMART (System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor) is designed for generating electricity (up to 100 MWe) and/or thermal applications such as seawater desalination.
• Modularity for Factory Fabrication: Major components of SMRs are factory-built, enabling higher quality standards and reducing construction time and costs.
  • NuScale's SMR plant can be assembled in modules at a factory and transported to the site, reducing overall space. 
• Potential for sub-grade (underground or underwater) location: Reactor unit providing more protection from natural (e.g. seismic or tsunami according to the location) or man-made hazards.
  •  For Example, Russia's Akademik Lomonosov, a floating nuclear power plant is designed to operate in remote Arctic regions.
• Scalability: The modular design and small size lends itself to having multiple units on the same site.
• Portability: Ability to remove reactor module or in-situ decommissioning at the end of the lifetime.

 Some of the issues with SMRs

• Private sector and profit orientation: Private sector can be tempted to lower costs by cutting corners compromising safety and security. The Fukushima accident review has already resulted in new safety requirements for operating and new reactors.
• Unreliability of passive safety features: SMRs has passive safety which may not always work, especially during extreme events such as large earthquakes, major flooding etc.
  • As per U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission review of the NuScale design revealed that passive emergency systems could deplete cooling water of boron, which is needed to keep the reactor safely shut down after an accident.
• Economic Viability: The cost per kilowatt-hour of the electricity produced by a small reactor will be higher than that of a large reactor, all other factors being equal.
  • For example, a 1,100 MWe plant would cost only about three times as much to build as a 180 MWe version, but would generate six times the power.
• Problem of what to do with radioactive waste: In terms of the quantity of highly radioactive isotopes, small reactors will produce just as much as large reactors per unit of heat generated and will require same disposal arrangements.
• No fuel efficiency than large reactors: On contrary some SMRs require fuel called "high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU)," with higher concentrations of the isotope uranium-235 than conventional light-water reactor fuel requiring cumbersome enrichment process.

Way forward

• Universal Regulatory Frameworks: Standardization and Licensing by regulatory frameworks to facilitate the deployment of SMRs across different countries. 
• Addressing Safety Concerns: Engaging with the public to address safety and environmental concerns can improve acceptance and support for SMR projects.
• A comprehensive safety assessment methodology is required to ensure that the Systems, Structures and Components (SSCs) of SMRs.
• Construction of FOAK (First of a kind) SMR demonstration units and learning: Government can support projects in many forms, ranging from specific long-term power purchase agreements to cost-sharing mechanisms that can minimize construction risks so as to attract more investors.
• Project specific Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA): It needs to be performed against a set of pre-defined criteria such as potential of the SMR towards emission free generation of electricity etc.
• Safeguards by Design (SBD): Consideration of Safeguards requirements during early stages of SMR designs in close interaction with IAEA, such that the implementation of Safeguards can be effective throughout the life cycle of SMR plant.
• Innovative Financing Framework: Availability of low-cost finance, green finance and incorporation of nuclear into green taxonomy can improve the economics of SMR projects.