India Launches World's First Nuclear Hydrogen Facility

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The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has set up the world's first nuclear heat-based hydrogen production plant at IGCAR in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.
It uses thermal energy from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) to produce hydrogen through a domestic Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical water-splitting method.

This plant is a carbon-free technology demonstrator that connects nuclear engineering with chemical processes to make clean hydrogen.
Instead of using power-heavy water electrolysis, it uses high-temperature heat directly from a nuclear core to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical cycle was designed and developed fully by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai.
The plant design, engineering work, and site setup were carried out jointly by BARC and IGCAR at Kalpakkam.

The project aims to support India's three-stage nuclear power program by finding non-electric uses for fast breeder reactors.
It aims to show a continuous, scalable, and climate-friendly way to meet India's long-term energy security and clean hydrogen goals.

In the first step, copper reacts with dry hydrogen chloride gas at 430-475°C to produce hydrogen gas.
In the second step, copper chloride reacts with superheated steam at 400°C to form copper oxychloride while regenerating hydrogen chloride gas.
In the third step, copper oxychloride is heated to about 500°C using reactor heat to release oxygen gas and produce cuprous chloride.
In the final step, cuprous chloride goes through low-voltage electrolysis to regenerate copper and copper chloride, which completes the closed loop.

The plant is powered by process heat from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam, which is India's only working sodium-cooled fast reactor.
The Cu-Cl cycle needs a maximum temperature of only 530°C, which is much lower than the 850°C required for the Sulfur-Iodine cycle.
The electrolysis stage uses only 0.5-1.0 volts, which is much lower than traditional water electrolysis that needs 1.23 volts or more.
Unlike solar or wind energy, this nuclear-powered system runs continuously without depending on the weather.

Clean hydrogen can replace fossil-fuel gray hydrogen in steel, oil refining, and chemical plants to cut carbon emissions.
It provides carbon-free hydrogen to make green ammonia, which helps India's fertilizer production and food security.
It supplies fuel for fuel-cell vehicles, shipping, aviation, and large-scale renewable energy storage.