Overview
- The Department of Atomic Energy inaugurated the facility on June 26, 2026, at IGCAR in Kalpakkam and tied the plant to heat from the 40 MWt Fast Breeder Test Reactor.
- The plant is a technology demonstrator built by BARC and IGCAR to validate integration of reactor process heat with the Copper–Chlorine (Cu–Cl) cycle rather than to produce hydrogen commercially.
- The Cu–Cl thermochemical cycle uses heat at roughly 450–550°C to drive a closed loop of copper and chlorine reactions that split water, while a small electrical step is still needed for part of the process.
- Engineers will focus on materials, corrosion control, reliable heat transfer and long-duration operation as key challenges to move from lab chemistry to plant-scale, commercial hydrogen production.
- If scaled, reactor-heat hydrogen could supply steady low-carbon feedstock for hard-to-abate industries such as steel, fertilizer and refining and strengthen India’s energy security by expanding nuclear applications beyond electricity.