Rapid Fire
India’s First Private Test Facility for Heavy Water
- 29 Jul 2025
- 2 min read
TEMA India, a firm based in Mumbai, has opened India's first private facility for testing heavy water upgrade equipment, marking a new phase of public-private collaboration in the nuclear sector.
- The facility will manufacture and test distillation columns used to upgrade depleted heavy water (D₂O) essential for Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).
- Usually, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) handles the testing, but this move to the private sector aims to cut project timelines by 1–2 years.
- Heavy Water (D₂O): Also known as deuterium oxide, it consists of two deuterium atoms and one oxygen atom and it is not radioactive.
- Deuterium, a heavier stable isotope of hydrogen, present in hydrogen and hydrogen bearing compounds like water, hydrocarbons, etc.
- Nuclear reactors use heavy water during construction and refueling. It acts as both a coolant and a moderator in nuclear fission and must be 99.9% pure.
- During operation, the heavy water gets depleted and is upgraded through distillation to restore its purity and maintain efficient reactor performance.
- India is the largest global producer of heavy water.
- India’s Nuclear Power: The nuclear power contributes about 3% to the total electricity generated in the country. India currently has 24 operational reactors (with an installed capacity of 8,780 MW), with plans to reach 22.4 GW by 2032 and 100 GW by 2047.
| Read more: India's Nuclear Energy Roadmap |
