Engineers India Limited (EIL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to provide “Engineering services for development of conceptual design and engineering of structures, systems and components for the Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR)”.
The MOU was signed at Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited’s (NPCIL’s) office in Mumbai in the presence of EIL Chairman and Managing Director Vartika Shukla and NPCIL Chairman and Managing Director Bhuwan Chandra Pathak along with other senior management officers from both organisations.
New Delhi-based EIL is a public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, providing industrial technology, engineering consultancy and technology licensing services. NPCIL is a Public Sector Enterprise under the administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
“This partnership supports the Government of India’s vision to accelerate nuclear power, enabling clean, green, and reliable energy to strengthen India’s energy security and is a step towards Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat, targeting a nuclear power capacity of 100 GW by 2047,” EIL said in a statement.
BSMRs are modified versions of India’s existing 200 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor (PWHR). They will be fuelled with “slightly enriched uranium” and are being jointly designed and developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). A 55 MWe version for deployment in remote locations is also being developed, with the first two units to be set up in a Department of Atomic Energy site by 2033.
NPCIL said in a post on LinkedIn that the agreement with EIL marks an important milestone in the journey of development of BSMR-200 jointly by NPCIL and the BARC, “a project that represents not only technological advancement but also a step further towards India’s clean, safe and reliable nuclear power capabilities”.
India’s Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the 2024 budget the government’s intention to research and develop the BSMR. In this year’s budget – announced in February – she promised federal funds to develop at least five Indian-designed SMRs to be operational by 2033.
In March Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh told parliamentarians that the “concept design” stage of the BSMR had been completed and was in the process of being approved. Once the project is sanctioned, it will take 60-72 months for the reactor to be constructed.
Earlier this year, NPCIL issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from ‘visionary Indian industries’ to finance and build a proposed fleet of 220 MWe BSMRs. Tata Power and the Naveen Jindal Group have already expressed interest in setting up SMRs, and in February, Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha – the upper house of the Indian parliament – that nuclear power is under consideration to meet the growing power needs of the country’s rail sector.
Earlier in August, Dr Singh noted a strong and vibrant response from industries with respect to the BSMR programme, leading to an extension of the RFP submission deadline from 30 June to 30 September to encourage wider participation.
