JOINING FORCES FOR NUCLEAR FUSION

Countries, including India, are pooling resources to build a plant that runs on a cleaner technology and abundant resources

Article from
FORBES INDIA-OCTOBER 2012

Nuclear Fusion
The nuclei of heavy forms of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) atoms are joined (fused) at high temprature,releasing heat in the process. Hydrogen must be held at a temperature of over 100 million degree Celsius. At such high tempratures,electrons get detached from the nucleus of the atom and remain in a state of matter called plasma.

Nuclear Fission
Energy is released from splitting of nucleus of one atom into lighter nuclei. In a conventional nuclear reactor, high-energy neutrons are used to split heavy uranium atoms, yielding large amounts of energy, radiation and radioactive waste that last for long periods of time.

Getting started..!!
In the 1940s, attempts by the UK and US to build the hydrogen bomb had a few useful by products such as technologies that were able to use the power of the atom to generate electricity. The process of Nuclear Fission, which produces dangerous waste was developed and has been used since then to produce power all over the world.

Sadly, the other technological byproduct of the hydrogen bomb- Nuclear Fusion, which uses abundantly available fuel sources and emits no harmful radiation-never quite made the cut. But after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011,conventional nuclear plants using Fission are being shuttered in many parts of the world. Now, the world is looking forward to nuclear fusion.

 India, with its huge power deficit, is among the countries that have taken the lead in developing these technologies. The govt has sealed its commitment through a sanction of 2500 cr to seed research of nuclear fusion. The funds are expected to grow in future. At the focus of much of this activity is one reactor being built in the south of France.

Project Iter

 A $ 20 billion project that aims to generate 500 MW. It is being built by a consortium of 7 partners
European Union
Korea

US
Japan

Russia
India

China

To demonstrate the viability of harnessing energy from nuclear fusion on the scale of a power station.

A quick glance on project Iter..

EU is the largest contributor with 34 % stake. India 9 %. Executed by the Gandhinagar based Iter- India, a division of the Institute of Plasma Research. The 7 partners will be bringing components to the project. In India, most of the work will be done by the private sector.

Shishir Deshpande Project Director

What this means to India????

9 large components, amounting to almost 1/10 th of the project, will be fabricated and sourced from India. Biggest of these is to build a CRYOSTAT- a 3800 tonne pressure chamber( size of a 10 storey building!) by L&T. This 1000 cr project will be built in India and shipped to France in sections.

CRYOSTAT

Most Indian Companies Are Looking For Opportunities To Step Up Their Abilities To Emerge As High-end Global Suppliers In The Nuclear Business.

Indian companies.

3800 tonne pressure chamber CRYOSTAT Joint venture with NPCIL.

Shielding Vessel

CRYOGENICS

POWER ELECTRONICS

ISSUES
After Fukushima incident, only a few nuclear projects are been discussed . Doubts have been raised about the viability of the shop set up for heavy forgings needed for nuclear and hydrocarbon reactors. Iter-cryostat will be fabricated at this facility- as with the current energy shortages, India simply cannot afford to stop working on nuclear energy.

In Deshpandes words
Iter- India hopes to begin the work as soon as the gaps in its knowledge are bridged. The Fusion project could provide neutron sources for Fission reactors. This could help fast-forward Indias Thorium programme. Indias nuclear power program; final stage involved moving from Uranium (limited reserve in India) to Thorium (plenty).

Fusion is something that was jokingly said to be always the fuel of the future. Energy starved India would do well to push the process.

SRUTHY SURESH FM-714

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