India has started up the world's first hydrogen production facility that uses nuclear process heat instead of electricity. The plant is located at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research in Kalpakkam, Karnataka, and draws heat from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) to drive a Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical cycle developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The Cu-Cl cycle operates at lower temperatures than other thermochemical hydrogen routes and offers higher thermodynamic efficiency. By replacing fossil fuel-based hydrogen production with nuclear heat, the facility avoids the emissions tied to conventional steam methane reforming. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) says this is a technology demonstrator meant to validate the process before any commercial-scale rollout. This project expands nuclear energy's role beyond electricity generation into industrial heat applications. If scaled, nuclear hydrogen could serve sectors like fertilizer, steel, and refining that currently rely on fossil-derived hydrogen. The DAE is positioning this as part of India's three-stage nuclear power program, with the FBTR providing decades of operational experience to back the effort.
