NFC-Kota in Rajasthan’s Rawatbhata, the greenfield project of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) for meeting the fuel requirements of the forthcoming 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR), has handed over its first fuel bundle to chairman and managing director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), according to chief executive Komal Kapoor.
He told a gathering at an event at Dr. Homi Bhabha Convention Centre, that the company had attained self-reliance in fuel production with recent developments, including indigenisation of a variety of equipment, development of state-of-the-art automated machining centres and manufacture and supply of special tubes for the strategic applications of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
Chairman of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) Dinesh Kumar Shukla was the chief guest and Sanjay Kumar Jha of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) was the guest of honour. Mr. Shukla congratulated NFC for its sustained production activities and performance over the years. He also highlighted its vital role in the nuclear power programme of the country. Mr. Jha said NFC’s imprint could be found in defence and space programmes. A compendium highlighting the major achievements of NFC over the past five decades was released on the occasion.
NFC has a comprehensive manufacturing cycle from ore to core, entailing processing of both uranium and zirconium streams under the same roof. Its specialty is in manufacturing of nuclear fuel bundles for PHWR, boiling water reactors (BWR) and fast breeder reactors; reactor core components; various tubes; high purity special materials; and others, according to a press release.
