BHEL to boost nuclear components business

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) plans to enhance its capabilities for the manufacture and supply of nuclear reactor components like steam generators for higher size reactors (1000 MWe and above), proposed to be installed in the country, besides nuclear turbines of 700 MWe and above ratings.

BHEL has already manufactured and supplied some nuclear reactor components like steam generators, reactor headers and nuclear turbine generator sets to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for their 220 MWe and 540 MWe reactors.

In March this year, BHEL was awarded a contract for manufacture of steam generators for 700 MWe reactors, Vilasrao Deshmukh, union minister of heavy industries and public enterprises informed the Lok Sabha today.

BHEL has also signed an MoU with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to form a joint venture company to carry out engineering procurement and construction (EPC) activities on the secondary side (turbine side) of nuclear power plants of 700 MWe and above rating within India and abroad.

Further, BHEL is holding discussions with international technology providers for 700 MWe and above nuclear turbines. The extent of gaining access to the new technologies would depend upon the negotiations in this regard, the minister stated.

BHEL is actively making efforts to associate with nuclear reactor vendors like GE-Hitachi (USA), Areva (France), Westinghouse (USA) and Atomstroyexport (Russia) for possible cooperation to manufacture the components of higher size reactors.