India's Fusion Power Plans
Why it Matters?
Researchers at the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar, have proposed a new roadmap for India to achieve fusion power.
This plan centres on developing the country's first fusion electricity generator which is called the Steady-state Superconducting Tokamak-Bharat (SST-Bharat). This marks a significant step in India's long-term energy strategy.
What you should know?
Nuclear Fusion is the process where two light atoms combine to form a heavier atom and, in the process, releasing a vast amount of energy.
Fusion is considered more attractive than the currently used nuclear fission because it produces significantly less radioactive waste.
Magnetic Confinement Method:
This is the primary technique India is invested in for achieving controlled fusion.
It involves heating plasma to 100 million degrees Celsius and using powerful magnetic fields to guide the atomic nuclei until they fuse.
The doughnut-shaped reactor used for this is called a tokamak.
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project:
Under this, the member nations are building a large-scale fusion reactor in France using the magnetic confinement method.
It aims to produce 10 times more power than it consumes.
India is a member of ITER
The Proposed SST-Bharat:
This is envisioned as India's first fusion electricity generator.
It is planned as a fusion-fission hybrid reactor that would generate five times the input power.
The total output will be of 130 MW (100 MW from fission and 30 MW from fusion).
The long-term goal is to commission a full-scale demonstration reactor by 2060.