March towards self-reliance in heavy water and specialty materials

The Heavy Water Board (HWB), an industrial unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India is engaged in the production of heavy water and specialty materials required by DAE for supporting the Indian Nuclear Power Programme (INPP). HWB through its four operating plants has ensured self-sufficiency in the availability of heavy water for pressurized heavy water reactors and has also exported heavy water. The mandate of HWB has been enlarged to include the production of specialty materials for DAE. This includes the development of technology for the production of solvents required in pursuit of a closed nuclear fuel cycle, development and deployment of technology on an industrial scale for the production of special materials such as nuclear-grade sodium, enri­ched boron compounds and boron carbide pellets for fast breeder reactors. Development and deployment of new processes, technologies, systems and equipment in areas of relevance to DAE, viz. recovery of value metals like cobalt, gallium, rare earth materials, etc. from the secondary resources is also a part of the enlarged mandate of HWB. The Board is also deploying spin-off technologies and providing consultancy services in the field of energy conservation, engineering and project management