According to reports from Business Standard, Minister of State Jitendra Singh revealed in Parliament that small modular reactors (SMRs) will cost between ₹320 crore for a 5 MW thermal reactor and ₹7,000 crore for two units of the 55 MW electric SMR-55. The estimated construction time for these SMRs is five to six years after financial approval is secured. The per-unit cost of the BSMR-200 works out to approximately ₹27 crore per MW, while the SMR-55 costs around ₹64 crore per MW. For comparison, India's 10 fleet-mode 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) were sanctioned at about ₹15 crore per MW in 2017, which at current prices would be closer to ₹23 crore per MW.
As reported by Business Standard, the BSMR-200 costs ₹5,960 crore for two units, while the HTGCR is designed for green hydrogen applications at ₹320 crore. The HTGCR is being built to demonstrate high-temperature nuclear heat for hydrogen production through thermochemical processes, with BARC developing both Copper–Chlorine (Cu–Cl) and Iodine–Sulphur (I–S) cycles. According to Rohit Vijay from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, the higher cost per MW is largely due to loss of economies of scale, as many systems including containment, control rooms, safety infrastructure, and regulatory compliance are required regardless of reactor size. The HTGCR is positioned as a technology demonstrator at about 2.4 per cent of the total estimated cost of the three reactor projects.
According to the reports, under the Nuclear Energy Mission, the government aims to develop and operationalise at least five indigenous SMRs by 2033. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is developing three SMR designs, with in-principle approval received for engineering and construction of all three reactors. Tarapur in Maharashtra has been approved by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) as the site for the BSMR-200 and SMR-55, while the proposal for administrative and financial sanction for the BSMR-200 has been cleared by the AEC. For all three reactors, in-principle approval for engineering and construction has been received.
As reported by Business Standard, SMRs are factory-built power plants positioned for captive power for energy-intensive industries, unlike large grid-scale nuclear stations. According to Vijay, the real economic test will come when India scales this technology to much larger commercial reactors capable of producing hydrogen at industrial volumes. The HTGCR is being built to demonstrate the use of high-temperature nuclear heat for hydrogen production by coupling the reactor with thermochemical processes, requiring substantially higher process temperatures than India's current fleet of power reactors can provide.
