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

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proper understanding of what the data

actually means as there are so many ways

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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

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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