‘Pioneering breakthrough’ opens promising pathway for large-scale production
India has inaugurated a nuclear-powered hydrogen production facility that it says is the first of its kind.
The facility, at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research Tamil Nadu, southern India, uses process heat from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) to produce hydrogen through the copper-chlorine thermochemical process, developed indigenously by scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.
The FBTR is a 40 MWt sodium-cooled fast reactor. It has been operational since 1985 and is seen as a cornerstone of India's nuclear programme, primarily serving as a test bed for advanced fast reactor fuels and sodium-handling technologies.
India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)) said the hydrogen production facility has been established as a technology demonstrator to validate the production of hydrogen using nuclear energy through the copper-chlorine thermochemical process,
“The successful integration of nuclear process heat with hydrogen generation marks a pioneering technological breakthrough and opens a promising pathway for large-scale, carbon-free hydrogen production using advanced nuclear reactors,” the DAE said.
It said hydrogen is widely regarded as a key energy carrier for the future and is expected to play a pivotal role in the global transition towards clean and sustainable energy systems.
Among the various hydrogen production technologies under development worldwide, the copper-chlorine thermochemical cycle is considered one of the most promising because of its relatively lower operating temperatures and higher thermodynamic efficiency.
“By harnessing nuclear heat from fast reactors, the process significantly reduces dependence on fossil fuels and eliminates greenhouse gas emissions associated with conventional hydrogen production methods,” the DAE said.
