Thorium-Utilisation Pathways for India

For India, thorium-based nuclear power has been the endgame, and will form the final phase of the three-stage Indian nuclear programme for energy security developed by Dr Homi J. Bhabha in the 1950s. This report assesses strategies for thorium adoption in the Indian nuclear power sector.
An early introduction of thorium in currently operational reactors would help establish expertise in the various aspects of fuel cycle — as database and operational experience on thorium fuels are limited, compared with uranium- and plutonium-based fuel cycles.

It is possible to considerably advance the thorium stage if the spent fuel reprocessing of thorium-based fuel and a Th – U-233 breeder design are ready for deployment before we enter the Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) stage on a big scale.

Requisite research and development related to thorium stage should be in parallel with, rather than consecutive to, the FBR stage.