India inaugurated the world’s first hydrogen production facility using nuclear process heat at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu

¨     On 26 June 2026, India inaugurated the world’s first hydrogen production facility using nuclear process heat at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.

¨     The facility uses the Copper–Chlorine (Cu–Cl) thermochemical cycle and receives nuclear process heat from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR).

¨     Thermochemical water-splitting produces hydrogen by using high-temperature heat instead of electricity for part of the water-splitting reaction.

¨     The Copper–Chlorine (Cu–Cl) cycle is one of the high-temperature thermochemical hydrogen production technologies.

¨     The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) is a premier nuclear research institution under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), located in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.

¨     IGCAR is engaged in advanced reactor research, nuclear fuel cycle studies, and fast reactor technology.

¨     The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), located at IGCAR, supplies the nuclear process heat required for the hydrogen production facility.

¨     The Copper–Chlorine (Cu–Cl) thermochemical cycle was indigenously developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, and is designed to produce hydrogen through a closed chemical loop.