Holtec ships key fuel storage modules for Kudankulam plant, Pg11.

Key Highlights:

• Holtec International shipped the first set of spent fuel storage racks for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu.
• The modules were co-produced by Holtec International and its Indian subsidiary Holtec Asia.
• A multi-purpose transport cask featuring radiation-shielding technology is also being sent to India.
• The US Department of Energy granted Holtec International clearance to transfer Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology to India in March.

Detailed Insights:

• The spent fuel storage racks will be installed in a new wet storage facility at the KKNPP site in a freestanding configuration.
• The VVER-1000 fuel used at Kudankulam has a hexagonal cross-section, unlike the square cross-section of Western Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs).
• The transport cask will be used to transfer spent fuel from Kudankulam's reactor-building pools to the new wet storage facility.
• The US Department of Energy approval allows Holtec to transfer SMR technology to Holtec Asia, Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd., and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. in India.
• Holtec aims to deploy its SMR-300 reactor combined with concentrated solar plants to transition from coal to clean energy.
• Holtec's Green Boiler, a long-duration energy storage device, is expected to stabilize India's power grid.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Spent Fuel: Nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor and is no longer efficient in sustaining a nuclear reaction.
• Small Modular Reactor (SMR): A nuclear fission reactor that is smaller than conventional nuclear reactors and can be manufactured in a factory and transported to the site for installation.
• VVER-1000: A Russian-designed pressurized water reactor type.