Please describe the uniqueness of ANEEL fuel.

ANEEL fuel is unique in that it enables practical thorium utilisation in the PHWRs (pressurised heavy-water reactors) that are operating globally today.

By combining thorium with a small amount of enriched uranium, the fuel achieves higher burn-up and more efficient fuel utilisation than conventional designs. As chain irradiation progresses, thorium converts into uranium-233 and increasingly sustains power generation, reducing reliance on uranium over time.

CCTE is the custodian of the world’s largest thorium dataset and holds a global patent portfolio covering thorium fuels. The ANEEL fuel has been validated through high burn-up irradiation testing at the US Idaho National Laboratory (INL), achieving burn-ups above 45–50 GW days per tonne of uranium and generating real performance data under demanding conditions.

The fuel delivers enhanced proliferation resistance, reduces spent-fuel volumes by over 85 per cent, improves safety and accident tolerance margins, and generates significant lifecycle cost savings. Higher burn-up sharply reduces refuelling requirements, cutting daily bundle replacements from about eight to one in 220 MWe PHWRs, and from 22–24 to about 2.6 on average in 700 MWe PHWRs, lowering operating and waste management costs.

How appropriate is ANEEL for small modular reactors and India’s existing PHWRs?

ANEEL fuel is well suited for both SMRs and PHWRs, supported by CCTE’s position as custodian of the world’s largest thorium irradiation dataset. The current ANEEL design is optimised for PHWR and CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) reactors, where heavy water moderation provides excellent neutron economy for thorium utilisation. This includes India’s 220 MWe Bharat Small Reactor (BSR), as well as 700 MWe PHWRs, enabling deployment across both small and large proven reactor platforms. Beyond PHWRs, CCTE is advancing next-generation ANEEL fuel concepts for light-water PWRs (pressurised water reactors), SMRs, and other reactor platforms, allowing thorium’s benefits to scale across the full spectrum of nuclear systems.

What are CCTE’s plans for India?

The plans for India focus on enabling scale, energy security, and fuel sovereignty through ANEEL fuel. Under the Viksit Bharat vision, India has announced a target of 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047, recognising nuclear as essential for clean, reliable baseload power. Given India’s deep experience and domestic manufacturing strength in PHWR technology, we believe a majority of this capacity is likely to be PHWR-based.

However, scaling up PHWRs using conventional natural uranium creates a long-term dependency. Each gigawatt requires approximately 175 tonnes of imported uranium per year, translating to about 8,750 tonnes annually at 50 GW, and over 525,000 tonnes across the fleet’s operating lifetime, representing a significant strategic and economic vulnerability.

ANEEL fundamentally reshapes India’s thorium pathway. By deploying thorium in existing PHWRs, the first of India’s three-stage nuclear vision, it delivers immediate gains in fuel security, safety, and economics while reducing spent fuel by over 85 per cent. At the same time, the uranium-233 generated within ANEEL spent fuel creates a tangible bridge to the long-envisioned third stage, transforming today’s PHWR fleet into both a power producer and a strategic enabler of India’s thorium future, without waiting decades for new reactor systems.

Our plan is to work with Indian utilities, regulators, and industry partners to progress from demonstration to commercial deployment of ANEEL across the PHWR fleet.

We also see this as a joint venture opportunity to build domestic fuel fabrication and supply-chain infrastructure and, over time, export thorium-enabled PHWR solutions globally. This approach aligns with the India–US civil nuclear framework and positions India as a global leader in advanced nuclear fuel and long-term energy security.