Nuclear Technology

Aim to deploy small modular nuclear reactors: Tata Consulting Engineers CEO

India aims to deploy 40-50 small modular nuclear reactors, mostly to replace captive thermal power plants, as it aims to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2070. A top industry official said that the 220-MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) was being redesigned using 3D design platforms with an aim to achieve a high degree of standardisation that would allow easy deployment, even in old thermal power plants used by the steel, aluminium, copper and the cement industries. The Department of Atomic Energy and Tata Consulting Engineers are redesigning the PHWRs to develop the Bharat Small Modular Reactor. "We are going to take the old design of the PHWR and then reconfigure and redesign it to be modular, scalable and safety-aligned to post-Fukushima standards," Amit Sharma, the managing director and CEO of Tata Consulting Engineers, told PTI. Sharma said in the case of small modular reactors (SMRs), the plan was to make 40-50 reactors in less than seven to eight years but .

Updated On : 25 Aug 2024 | 11:33 AM IST

India to get next-gen nuclear fuel this summer, says Russian official

A full-scale discussion took place on the perspective areas of the Russian-Indian cooperation in the nuclear field

Updated On : 24 May 2024 | 11:05 AM IST

Drone attack on Russia's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant increases accident risk

The head of the UN's atomic watchdog agency said Sunday a drone attack on one of six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident." In a statement on the social media platform X, Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed at least three direct hits against ZNPP main reactor containment structures took place. This cannot happen, he said. He said it was the first such attack since November 2022, when he set out five basic principles to avoid a serious nuclear accident with radiological consequences. In a separate statement, the IAEA confirmed physical impact of drone attacks at the plant, including at one of its six reactors. One casualty was reported, it said. "Damage at unit 6 has not compromised nuclear safety, but this is a serious incident with potential to undermine integrity of the reactor's containment system it added. Officials at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant said that

Updated On : 08 Apr 2024 | 6:39 AM IST

Texas nuclear weapons facility pauses operations amid widespread wildfires

Rapidly moving Texas wildfires on Tuesday prompted evacuation orders in small towns and shut down a nuclear facility as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fuelled the blaze in the state's rural Panhandle. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties as the largest fire burned nearly 400 square miles (1,040 square kilometres), according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. That is more than twice its size since the fire sparked Monday. Authorities have not said what might have caused the blaze, which tore through sparsely populated counties surrounded by rolling plains. Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe, Abbott said. The largest blaze, known as the Smokehouse Creek Fire, closed highways and remained 0 per cent contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Forest Service. The main facility that assembles and disassembles America's nuclear arsenal shut

Updated On : 28 Feb 2024 | 9:50 AM IST

Only the operator of Fukushima plant liable to pay damages: Tokyo Court

A Tokyo court on Tuesday held only the operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant responsible for paying damages to dozens of evacuees. The Tokyo High Court also slashed the amount to half of what the lower court had ordered and relieved the government of responsibility a decision that plaintiffs and their lawyers criticised as belittling their suffering and the severity of the disaster. The court ordered only the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, known as TEPCO, to pay a total of 23.5 million yen (USD 165,000) to 44 of the 47 plaintiffs, while not holding the government accountable. Tuesday's ruling apparently backpedaled from an earlier decision in March 2018, when the Tokyo District Court held both the government and TEPCO accountable for the disaster, which the ruling said could have been prevented if they both took better precautionary measures, ordering both to pay 59 million yen (USD 414,400) in damages. The decision comes at a time when Japan's ...

Updated On : 27 Dec 2023 | 10:07 AM IST

China building nuclear weapons faster than previous projection: Report

A Pentagon report on China's military power says Beijing is exceeding previous projections of how quickly it is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal and is almost certainly learning lessons from Russia's war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like. The report released on Thursday also warns that China may be pursuing a new intercontinental missile system using conventional arms that, if fielded, would allow Beijing "to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska. The China report comes a month before an expected meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden on the sidelines of next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. The annual report, required by Congress, is one way the Pentagon measures the growing military capabilities of China, which the US government sees as its key threat in the region and America's primary long-term security challenge. But after .