Visakhapatnam chosen for high-energy proton accelerator

Andhra Pradesh is set to play a key role in advancing one of India’s most ambitious atomic science programmes, with plans under way to establish a high-energy proton accelerator system in Visakhapatnam as part of the country’s long-term nuclear research roadmap.

Speaking to The Hindu at the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT) campus in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on Monday during a Press Information Bureau media visit, Dr. Jishnu Dwivedi, Director of the Technology Development and Support Group, said the proposed Visakhapatnam facility would form a crucial component of India’s accelerator-driven systems to harness vast thorium reserves for nuclear energy.

“The proton accelerator is being developed as part of India’s long-term nuclear programme. As the technology is extremely complex and expensive, the machine will take a couple of decades to become fully operational,” Dr. Dwivedi said.

Once running, it will generate high-energy neutrons through spallation reactions to convert India’s abundant thorium into uranium fuel for reactors. “This is a strategically important technology for India, which possesses some of the world’s largest thorium reserves,” he added.

Visakhapatnam was chosen for its strong technological ecosystem and proximity to the sea, providing ample cooling water for such high-energy systems.

Established in 1984 under the Department of Atomic Energy, RRCAT leads research in particle accelerators and laser technologies with applications in space, defence, communications, and medical science. It also runs national-scale labs where industries, hospitals, and institutions conduct experiments. Dr. Dwivedi noted that RRCAT’s linear accelerators power electron beam facilities sterilising medical devices exported to over 35 countries.

“Through continuous research programmes, our aim is to ensure scientific knowledge translates into societal applications,” he said.

RRCAT’s incubation centre, AIC-RRCAT Pi-Hub, is nurturing innovation too. Convener Dr. Christ Prakash Paul said the centre signed 32 agreements with industries and startups over the past two years, with nine ventures now collaborating. “One startup is developing economical metal 3D printing for space and defence users,” he noted. RRCAT holds patents on low-cost models at about ₹25 lakh each, set for adoption in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities.

Emerging technologies here like fibre-based optical sensors and cryogenic cooling for MRI machines could create a ₹1,000 crore market by 2028, Dr. Paul added, with at least two unicorns emerging from the ecosystem in the next decade.