Why Sand Will Power India for Centuries

India is on the brink of a nuclear Innovation that could redefine its energy future but there's a problem at the tail end of 2022 the spokesman for India's Department of atomic energy announced that its new Advanced reactor the ambitious prototype fast breeder reactor faced additional delays and was extending its completion to late 2024 so what's happening on the Kuran kulum reactor your predecessor said that the delays will damage the reactor now the delays are happening because you're not able to commission the reactor is the reactor damage what is wrong it has been 38 years running and you still don't have the Prototype fast breeder reactor which is 20 years in the making while setbacks on nuclear projects aren't new the Prototype fast breeder reactor has the rather uncomfortable distinction of being in the running for the most delayed nuclear project in history having been initially designed in 1983 and supposed to be up and running before 2000 even by nuclear industry standards things are extremely late but this is isn't just about Miss deadlines because this reactor is key to a much larger plan unlike most other countries which focus on only a single technology like water cooled reactors decades ago India mapped out a distinct three-stage strategy for its nuclear program that is as ambitious as it is complicated but it's one that could unlock centuries of cheap sustainable energy so to find out how India a country eager for Progress can get its nuclear energy program moving again we need to answer a few basic questions first what exactly sets India's nuclear energy Ambitions apart from the rest of the world why despite its potential is India's nuclear development Stuck In Perpetual delays and perhaps most critically is there a solution once we do that we can put India now the most populated country on Earth on the atomic blender nuclear energy leaderboard when you look at What official information is presented from the government or media in places like India or really anywhere else for that matter it can be difficult to get a proper understanding of what the data actually means as there are so many ways that the information can be misrepresented but there is a free and easy way to understand the world better with brilliant.org the sponsor of today's video their excellent module on data visualization makes it much easier to see when media Outlets or even scientific studies misrepresent their data in graphs or comparisons even as a nuclear physicist I found it incredibly valuable to go through brilliant's nine-part exploration on data visualization brilliant helps even busy people learn analytical and problem solving skills in stem all broken down in a way that makes it not only much easier to learn but really fun brilliant storytelling and interactive visualizations which are six times more effective than traditional means bring Concepts to life in a way that makes getting better at what you want a treat rather than a chore plus everything is made by experts from places like MIT and Google giving you access to knowledge from people who really know what they're talking about I personally found myself noticing visualizations of data in the media that have led to lots of sections in these videos presenting information in a more straightforward and truthful way it's like the old adage move to avoid the large Investments while getting started sooner by the 1960s this plan wasn't just on paper anymore India bought its first nuclear plants two relatively modest 200 megawatt heavy water reactors from Canada and thus the first stage was set in motion but these weren't just for lighting up homes and powering new Industries there was a dual purpose generate electricity sure but also produce plutonium when natural uranium is struck by a neutron it doesn't always Vision some of it absorbs the extra Neutron and convert con itself into plutonium through a process called transmutation once it's converted the plutonium can be extracted and used later so besides being very efficient with uranium heavy water reactors excel at producing plutonium and for this plan to work India was going to need a lot of plutonium but then in 1974 India's nuclear Journey hit a very large speed bump just 2 years after their first Canadian supplied reactor went online the Indian army tested an atomic bomb the reaction from the International Community was Swift Canada cut off all of its nuclear dealings with India completely isolating them but despite this with the technology transfer from Canada already completed the heavy water design would lay the groundwork for nearly all of India's future plants and they didn't just stick with what they got from Canada they scaled up domestically designing and building reactors as large as 700 megawatt today India operates 17 heavy water reactors capable of producing nearly 5 gaw of electricity that's an impressive Fleet but there's a a catch because India's uranium reserves are limited there was always a cap The Plan called for no more than 10 gaw using heavy water reactors the plan was always to use the plutonium produced in these reactors as a stepping stone for the next stage in the grand plan while heavy water reactors are great at making plutonium they still end up consuming more uranium than the amount of plutonium they produce which isn't great if you're trying to save a limited resource but that's where a special type of reactor comes in called a breeder reactor by arranging the plutonium in the center it can operate like just any other nuclear plant and instead of using water to cool it this design uses liquid sodium it turns out this Arrangement efficiently produces a lot of neutrons many more than the heavy Water Reactor so many that if we surround the plutonium with natural uranium it becomes remarkably good at converting that uranium into plutonium as well by using this Arrangement there are so many neutrons flying around that the amount of uranium converted into plutonium in the blanket is actually higher than the amount of plutonium fuel it consumes in the middle it's called a breeder reactor for a reason it produces more fuel than it consumes and this isn't some theoretical dream either countries like the US have demonstrated this design works in the past operating the experimental breeder reactor 2 until 1994 France operated its massive super Phoenix breeder reactor and Russia continues to operate two breeder reactors having started up the latest in 20120 this design is at the center of stage 2 by feeding plutonium from the heavy water reactors and surrounding it with natural uranium the breeder reactor creates an increasing feedback loop of plutonium while still efficiently producing electricity India aims to join this exclusive club with its own design the Prototype fast breeder reactor but as with any ambitious plan challenges are waiting and this new reactor is a lesson in ambition meeting reality the Prototype fast breeder reactor was supposed to be a scaled up version of its predecessor the fast breeder test reactor I know very creative names but as often happens the was in the details scaling up meant dealing with a lot more of the sodium coolant not to mention the specialized Fuel and ensuring the Integrity of all the components involved sodium while excellent for cooling and efficiently making more fuel comes with its own set of challenges unlike water which is used in reactors around the world and is well understood by pretty much everyone sodium is much more difficult sodium reacts violently when it contacts water so even small leaks due to simple things like corrosion can cause devastating problems in order to prove that this new design could operate safely India had to put enormous efforts into research and development test loops and rigs were built to demonstrate components would work as intended experience from other operating breeder reactors in the US France and Russia also led to significant design changes over time further delaying the project there was also pressure to simplify the design and ensure economic viability after all the goal wasn't just to build a single reactor but to build a whole Fleet of them this meant that the design needed to be both simpler to construct and cheaper to run India's commitment to self-reliance added another layer of complexity opting for domestic design and Fabrication meant the country was largely on its own to develop the technology required all of these factors led to the Project's spiraling costs and nearly quarter Century delay despite these challenges the Indian government support hasn't wavered with budgets continuing to fund the first startup expected in 2024 while Skeptics might point to the continual it'll happen next year there's no denying the importance of the Prototype fast breeder react because its success leads to the third and final stage of India's grand plan thorium while thorium has had a bit of a Resurgence in popularity elsewhere in recent years it's always been part of India's original plan since the 1950s I've already made two videos on thorium so I don't want to repeat too much here but essentially thorium can act as an efficient alternative fuel to uranium and just like natural uranium can be converted into plutonium and breeder reactors thorium can be converted into something just as valuable uranium 233 since India has massive reserves of thorium you can start to see where this is going by replacing the natural uranium and instead introducing thorium into the blanket in the breeder reactors India plans to convert it into usable uranium 233 the final stage is to then take this newly created uranium 233 and put it in the center of its own breeder reactor and as you probably guessed surround it with Mor thorium once this final cycle is self-sufficient there's no need for the first two stages anymore and the process can go on liter literally for centuries this makes India unique in that it's the only country with a national long-term plan of operating a fleet of nuclear reactors powered by thorium so why has India's Journey towards this sustainable future been more of a slow Marathon rather than a Sprint well from the beginning India decided to take The Road Less Traveled after first importing reactor technology from Canada India set its sights on achieving self-reliance developing designing and deploying its own nuclear technology is a bold move given the complexity of atomic power India is full of Brilliant Minds and some of the best scientists globally but even the most ambitious projects still need a helping hand sometimes the only other country operating a large breeder reactor today is Russia which could at least in theory provide valuable insights and cooperation however that's likely dependent on diplomatic relations between the two which as we've seen can change rapidly still India's commitment to internal development means they're reluctant to seek potential collaborations but India isn't alone in its nuclear Ambitions Around the World Private companies are pushing the boundaries of nuclear technology take OKO in the United States the California based startup is building on the legacy of breeder reactors aiming to bring efficient small-scale plants to life then there's Copenhagen atomics which is working on plutonium fueled thorium breida reactors just like India only on a smaller scale the question then is can India navigate through the technical mazes and bureaucratic hurdles that lie ahead after all India's ambition isn't just to be a member member of the nuclear Club it's to lead it now let's see how India a country forging its own path does on the atomic blender nuclear energy leaderboard starting with size India currently produces just over 40 tatt hours of electricity annually from its nuclear stations which is just above average for countries with nuclear energy so on a scale of 1 to 10 it gets a 6 out of 10 the country is still heavily dependent on coal which makes up the vast majority of its electricity production the remaining moderate amount of nuclear energy is spread thinly over India's massive population accounting for just 3% of the total electrical output which is well below that of other nuclear countries so it gets a two out of 10 India has a decently long history of operating nuclear power starting with its first reactor from Canada in the 1970s however performance hasn't been very good with extended downtimes for maintenance and refurbishments resulting in capacity factors that leave a lot to be desired so for operating experience it gets a 5 out of 10 infrastructure because of its domestic ambition India has developed an extensive supply chain research Labs skilled personnel and Fabrication facilities while it has limited domestic uranium supplies it's planned to transition to what is essentially an unlimited supply of thorium means if it ever manages to get there it'll be set for centuries so it gets an easy N9 out of 10 finally growth very few countries have experienced as much nuclear expansion in the last decade as India and more is expected in the future with eight reactors currently under construction and many more planned however like China that growth has been more or less only keeping up with increased demand rather than expanding nuclear share of the total still government support is exceptionally strong with long-term policies that aim to continue that expansion for years to come so it gets an 8 out of 10 overall that gives India a final score of six tying it with the United Kingdom a score that could be improved if its ambitious plans for breeda reactors in thorium ever take off and remember to check out brilliant to see everything they have to offer for free for a full 30 days at brilliant.org Atomic blender or click the link in the description you'll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription and if you'd like to see how the UK another country struggling with nuclear delays did you should check out this video and thanks for watching I'll see you in the next one

Channel: AtomicBlender

Views: 159,658

Keywords: nuclear, nuclear enregy, nuclear power, thorium, energy policy, nuclear fission, united kingdom, smr, small modular reactor, india, prototype fast breeder reactor

Id: K8MzyMG4d9c

Length: 14min 46sec (886 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 28 2024