Larsen & Toubro, India’s largest construction company, and BHEL, India’s largest supplier of power plant equipment, are among those tapped by the Nuclear Power Corporation for the rollout of the first large-scale nuclear power plants developed using Indian technology.

While L&T said it received a Rs 442 cr order to supply forgings for steam generators for six plants, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited reported Rs 736 cr order to supply steam generators for one plant.

It is not clear whether the contracts for the steam generators for the other five plants have been awarded to other players or whether they are yet to be awarded.

The award of the contracts indicates that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India has got cracking on implementing its landmark 7.7 GW nuclear expansion. The six reactors for which L&T will be supplying forgings for are part of the ten Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor plants announced by the government in December.

In December, the government said it would set up 10 nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 7.7 GW, equal to the current total installed nuclear power capacity in India, built up over several decades with the help of foreign countries.

Besides the scale, what sets these nuclear power plants apart is the use of Indian know-how. India has so far relied on the know-how provided by countries such as Russia, Japan, France and the US to set up its nuclear power plants.

“This will raise the profile of India’s scientists and technology in the world,” power minister Piyush Goyal had said in December. “It will also show the world that we are taking steps to address global warming.”

L&T

Larsen & Toubro said its forgings will be used in the manufacture of the “critical equipment for six new indigenous 700 MWe” pressurised heavy water reactors.

“This prestigious order from NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd) reinforces L&T’s standing in the country as a major player in the nuclear power sector.,” said Shailendra Roy, L&T Director in charge of Power, Heavy Engg. & Nuclear.

The order will be carried out by L&T Special Steels and Heavy Forgings, the company’s joint venture with NPCIL. The unit makes heavy forgings for the nuclear, hydrocarbon, oil & gas and strategic sectors.

BHEL

BHEL said the 700 MW plant will be set up at Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna in Fatehabad district of Haryana. The Steam Generators will be manufactured at the Tiruchirappalli plant of BHEL. .

BHEL designs the steam generators in association with NPCL, a government of India company tasked with producing nuclear power.

So far, said BHEL, it has already supplied 38 steam generators for various buclear power installations in the country.

“Currently, BHEL manufactured Steam Turbine Generator sets contribute nearly half of the country’s total installed Nuclear power capacity,” it said.

The seven plants are part of the first stage of India’s three-stage nuclear program.

The first stage is Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR), followed by Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) and the third stage Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), which will tap into the country’s thorium reserves.