{"id":32284,"date":"2024-11-18T18:51:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T13:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=32284"},"modified":"2024-11-18T18:51:19","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T13:21:19","slug":"small-nuclear-reactors-smrs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-11-2024\/small-nuclear-reactors-smrs","title":{"rendered":"Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Energy and Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has announced plans to support the construction of up to 50 small nuclear reactors (SMRs) through public-private partnerships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Small modular reactors (SMRs) are advanced nuclear reactors with a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit, roughly one-third the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power plants.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Small <\/strong>\u2013 physically a fraction of the size of a conventional nuclear power reactor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Modular <\/strong>\u2013 making it possible for systems and components to be factory-assembled and transported as a unit to a location for installation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reactors <\/strong>\u2013 harnessing nuclear fission to generate heat to produce energy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>There are four four main types<\/strong> of SMR i.e., light water, high temperature gas, liquid metal, and molten salt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"9abfc7\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Nuclear-Reactors--1024x576.webp\" alt=\"Nuclear Reactors \" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-32285\" style=\"--dominant-color: #9abfc7; width:602px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Nuclear-Reactors--1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Nuclear-Reactors--300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Nuclear-Reactors--768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Nuclear-Reactors--1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Nuclear-Reactors-.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Advantages of SMR<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Enhanced Safety Features:<\/strong> SMRs utilize passive safety mechanisms, such as natural convection and gravity-driven cooling, which help prevent overheating without relying on external power or human intervention.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Flexibility:<\/strong> The modular nature of SMRs allows for incremental power additions, which is ideal for growing energy needs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Suitability for Remote and Off-Grid Areas: <\/strong>SMRs compact design makes them adaptable for smaller grid systems and applications like district heating and water desalination.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cost-Effective Construction:<\/strong> Prefabrication in controlled environments reduces on-site construction time and costs.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Regulatory Challenges: <\/strong>The current nuclear regulatory framework is primarily designed for large-scale reactors.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The possibility of using SMRs to produce materials for nuclear warheads and co-locating them with military sites raises <strong>non-proliferation concerns<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legal Hurdles: <\/strong>India&#8217;s <strong>Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010,<\/strong> channels operators\u2019 liability to equipment suppliers, deterring foreign investors due to financial risk concerns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>High Initial Costs:<\/strong> Although SMRs are designed to be more cost-effective in the long run, the initial capital investment is significant.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Waste Management: <\/strong>Handling and disposing of nuclear waste remains a significant challenge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supply Chain and Manufacturing: <\/strong>Developing a robust supply chain for the components of SMRs and ensuring quality manufacturing processes are critical for their success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India&#8217;s efforts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to a report by<strong> NITI Aayog,<\/strong> SMRs are seen as a critical technology for industrial decarbonization and energy transition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Research and development on SMRs are ongoing at the <strong>Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)<\/strong> in Mumbai.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Bharat Small Reactor (BSR)<\/strong> is a notable project under this initiative which aims to re-engineer existing reactors to incorporate additional safety features and enhance their efficiency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India and France<\/strong> have launched a cooperation program focused on SMRs and advanced modular reactors (AMRs).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The increased use of <strong>renewable energy coupled with the SMRs<\/strong> has the potential to fill energy gaps and contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable future.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, careful consideration and international cooperation will be necessary to ensure that this technology is developed and deployed responsibly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/nuclear-energy-trump-positive-for-indias-smr-push-9674122\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India has announced plans to support the construction of up to 50 small nuclear reactors (SMRs) through public-private partnerships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32286,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32284\/revisions\/32286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}