India launches reactor capable of producing its own nuclear fuel

India has reached a major milestone in nuclear power: the breeder reactor at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu has reached criticality level, meaning it has begun to sustain a self-sustaining chain reaction. This is a mandatory step before connecting to the power grid.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the event a “defining moment” in the country’s atomic history.

The reactor at Kalpakkam produces more nuclear fuel than it burns. It does not run on water, like most reactors in the world, but on liquid sodium, which allows the neutrons to remain high-energy. They are the ones who turn depleted uranium into plutonium – a new fuel that is put back into use.

The technology is designed to solve India’s strategic problem – a shortage of uranium with large reserves of thorium. Physicist Homi Baba back in the 1950s developed a three-stage program in which breeder reactors serve as an intermediate link that will make it possible to later switch to the use of thorium to generate electricity.

Construction of the reactor began in 2004 and was repeatedly delayed due to technical difficulties. After a series of low-power tests, the reactor will be brought online, making India the second country in the world after Russia to operate a commercial breeder reactor.