Inaugurated by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), facility serves as technology demonstrator for production of hydrogen using nuclear energy through copper-chlorine thermochemical process developed indigenously by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
Key Highlights
- Use of Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR): It utilizes nuclear process heat generated from FBTR at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam.
- Established in 1971, IGCAR, is one of India's premier nuclear research institutions under DAE.
- FBTR served as an invaluable platform for development and validation of fuels, materials and sodium technologies.
- Also played a pivotal role in development of 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), flagship of second stage of India's three-stage nuclear power programme.
- Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical process: It uses high-temperature heat from nuclear reactor to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
- Cu-Cl cycle operates at lower temperatures while offering relatively high efficiency, considered one of more promising thermochemical routes.
Other Methods for Hydrogen Production
- Thermochemical Processes: Use the energy in various resources like natural gas, coal, or biomass, to release hydrogen from their molecular structure. E.g. Steam Methane Reforming (SMR).
- In SMR, Natural gas reacts with high-temperature steam (at 700-1000 °C) under 3-25 bar pressure in presence of catalyst to produce carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
- Electrolytic Processes: Electrolysers use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
- Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting: Hydrogen is produced from water using sunlight and specialized semiconductors called photoelectrochemical materials.
