TEMA India commissions private test facility for heavy water upgradation

India’s first private-sector test facility for upgrading depleted heavy water was recently inaugurated by Shri Rajesh V, Director (Technical), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), and Shri K. T. Shenoy, Director, Chemical Engineering Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

Commissioned by TEMA India Ltd., the facility was developed under a technology transfer from BARC and a Purchase Order from NPCIL. TEMA India’s nuclear division led the design and build. This marks the first time such testing infrastructure has been developed outside of BARC and in the private sector.

The facility enables the validation of heavy water distillation components, which are crucial to the operation of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs). The dignitaries also flagged off the first batch of eight validated Distillation Column sections, featuring activated phosphor bronze modules. These will be deployed at RAPP Unit 8, GHAVP Units 1-4, and KAIGA Units 5 and 6.

Until now, performance testing for such modules was only possible within BARC. The new facility expands domestic capacity and supports localisation of critical nuclear infrastructure.