India opens deuterated compounds plant and commissions prototype sodium cell

The facilities are intended to strengthen domestic production of strategic materials and support the country’s nuclear programme.

India’s Department of Atomic Energy has opened a deuterated compounds plant and commissioned a 24 kA prototype sodium cell. The ceremony took place at the Heavy Water Board Facilities in Vadodara on 21 June 2026.

Author: Робот Source: Department of Atomic Energy of India

Industrial facilities at the Heavy Water Board site in Vadodara, India — The new facilities were inaugurated at the Heavy Water Board site in Vadodara. Illustrative photo. Photo: Es_Parody / Pixabay, Pixabay Content License

Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, inaugurated the Versatile Deuterated Compounds Production Plant and commissioned a 24 kA Prototype Sodium Cell at the Heavy Water Board Facilities in Vadodara on 21 June 2026.

The plant is designed to expand domestic production of specialised deuterated compounds needed for advanced scientific research, strategic applications and frontier technologies. It will produce high-purity deuterated solvents.

The prototype sodium cell marks a step towards industrial-scale domestic production of nuclear-grade sodium for India’s Fast Breeder Reactor Programme. The material is required for the second stage of the country’s three-stage nuclear power programme.

Those attending the ceremony included K. N. Vyas, Homi Bhabha Chair Professor and former Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, as well as Heavy Water Board officials, scientists, engineers and employees.

The Department of Atomic Energy said the facilities would strengthen India’s technological self-reliance, support advanced research and contribute to the long-term objectives of the country’s nuclear energy programme.

Source: Department of Atomic Energy of India

Countries:

India

Tags:

Defense

India opens deuterated compounds plant and commissions prototype sodium cell

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