DAE Inaugurates World's First Nuclear Process-Heat Hydrogen Production Facility at IGCAR, Kalpakkam
On 26 June 2026, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) inaugurated the world's first hydrogen production facility based on the Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical cycle, using nuclear process heat from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. The facility was inaugurated by Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, DAE and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), in the presence of IGCAR Director Sreekumar G. Pillai. The plant was developed indigenously by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and jointly commissioned with IGCAR as a technology demonstrator. By integrating nuclear heat with hydrogen generation, it enables carbon-free, large-scale hydrogen production without fossil fuels, supporting India's clean-energy and green hydrogen goals.
Key Facts & Details
9 points- 1The DAE inaugurated the world's first hydrogen production facility based on the Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical cycle on 26 June 2026.
- 2It uses nuclear process heat from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at IGCAR, Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu).
- 3It was inaugurated by Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, DAE and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.
- 4The technology was developed indigenously by BARC and commissioned jointly with IGCAR.
- 5The plant is a technology demonstrator for nuclear-assisted hydrogen production.
- 6It enables carbon-free hydrogen at scale, cutting fossil-fuel dependence and supporting India's green-hydrogen push.
Deep Dive
- +The Cu-Cl thermochemical cycle splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using heat plus chemical reactions, at lower temperatures than direct thermal splitting.
- +Using a reactor's process heat (rather than electricity) makes hydrogen production more energy-efficient and emission-free.
- +The demonstrator will generate operational experience to optimise the process for future commercial-scale, nuclear-assisted hydrogen plants.
Exam Focus
Where and by which organisation was the world's first nuclear process-heat hydrogen facility (Cu-Cl cycle) inaugurated in June 2026, and which reactor supplies the heat?
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Exam Relevance & Angle
This is a high-yield Science & Technology item combining several testable facts — the 'world's first' tag, the Cu-Cl cycle, the FBTR, BARC/IGCAR, DAE and Kalpakkam — and it ties into India's green hydrogen and clean-energy themes that recur across banking, SSC and UPSC general-awareness papers.
Target Exams
Background & Context
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), set up in 1954 and headed by a Secretary who also chairs the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), oversees India's nuclear programme through units like the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at IGCAR is a research reactor that 'breeds' more fissile material than it consumes and operates at high temperatures, making its process heat useful for industrial applications. Thermochemical water-splitting cycles such as the Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle use a series of chemical reactions driven by heat to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, offering an emission-free route to hydrogen when the heat comes from a non-fossil source like a nuclear reactor. This complements India's National Green Hydrogen Mission.
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Must KnowTest Yourself
1 / 2Where was the world's first hydrogen production facility using the Copper-Chlorine thermochemical cycle and nuclear process heat inaugurated in June 2026?
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