What happened
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) reported two milestone updates under India’s nuclear energy roadmap. The indigenously designed Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) achieved first criticality in April 2026 (First Criticality recorded on 6 April 2026 at 08:20 pm). In parallel, DAE highlighted a milestone clean hydrogen production demonstration using nuclear heat at the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) via the Copper–Chlorine (Cu–Cl) thermochemical cycle, reported as achieved on 26 June 2026.
Background and earlier position
DAE’s three-stage nuclear power programme is designed as a closed fuel cycle. In the first stage, Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) use natural uranium and convert/accumulate fissile material to move towards future fuel-resource multiplication. The second stage uses Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs), with plutonium from reprocessing of spent fuel of PHWRs as driver fuel. The third stage targets large-scale thorium utilisation by producing Uranium-233 (U-233) bred from Thorium-232 through reactor-based breeding and then using U-233 as fuel.
DAE stated that the first stage of the programme has already been achieved through the acquisition of expertise in design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance, and fuel-cycle activities associated with indigenous PHWRs.
What changed now
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