With the signing of the nuclear deal between India and US, the New Delhi-based diversified engineering and construction Punj Lloyd Group has signed a deal with US-based Thorium Power Ltd., a leading developer of non-proliferative nuclear fuel to explore nuclear fuel designs in India, Southeast Asia and other territories

Yesterday, Nuclear Power Corporation chairman and managing director S K Jain, said that India is committed to the three-stage nuclear power development programme involving the use of pressurised heavy water reactors, the fast breeder reactors and the thorium reactors (See: India committed to developing thoreum reactors: NPCIL chief).

Punj Lloyd hopes that with the signing of the deal with Thorium Power it will be able to expand its strenghts in nuclear fuel designs and the scope of its consulting activities in the nuclear power generation sector and set up joint venture in areas of nuclear fuel generation.

"The Indo-US civil nuclear deal has opened up investment opportunities which will make the Indian industry robust and competitive," said Atul Punj, chairman, Punj Lloyd Group. "The nuclear space is very promising and with this partnership we aim to take forward India's longstanding commitment to the thorium fuel cycle, notwithstanding the opening up of trade in conventional uranium technology.

Punj  added that India has the second largest deposit of thorium in the world and the successful launch of thorium technology would make India self reliant with its own fuel in the long run.

He said, "With immense opportunities in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) space, it is a privilege for us to be working with the nuclear energy pioneer Thorium Power. Continuing our expansion in high-growth areas, we believe that this MoU will play a vital role in strengthening our expertise" he further added.

Mclead-based Thorium Power is pioneer in nuclear energy and the leading developer of proliferation-resistant nuclear fuels and a provider of comprehensive advisory services.
Seth Grae, president and CEO of Thorium Power stated ''Through this collaboration we will explore the full range of options available to both our companies in areas as diverse as marketing our non-proliferative fuel designs, providing advisory services to emerging national nuclear programs and exploring development and investment opportunities in the nuclear industry. Atul Punj is a prime example of India's great visionary business leaders, and I look forward to working with him.''

Thorium Power was formed in 1992 to develop and deploy nuclear fuel designs developed by Dr. Alvin Radkowsky. In April 2007, the company announced a strategic alliance with Red Star, a Russian government-owned entity and one of the premier nuclear design bureaus in the world, whereby Thorium Power's fuel designs will undergo additional testing and scale-up with the goal of moving toward deployment within full-sized commercial reactors.

Thorium Power implements nuclear development programs and solutions and through its advisory services business assist commercial and government entities with the development and expansion of their nuclear industry capabilities and infrastructure. It provide integrated strategic advice across a range of expertise areas including nuclear reactor procurement and deployment, reactor and fuel technology, international relations and regulatory affairs.

Virginia-based Thorium Power, has been working with researchers in Russia since the early 1990s to commercialize thorium. For the past five years, Thorium Power has been testing its fuel design in a research reactor at Moscow's Kurchatov Institute. The company will spend the next six months examining the results The company plans to test the fuel in a commercial reactor and, finally, seek approval from the Russian government to market the technology.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2008 the company's revenue reported was $6.7 million and net income was $853,000. As of September 30, 2008, the company had approximately $10.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $5.0 million of working capital.

There is renewed interest in nuclear thorium as a potential solution to some of the industry's most daunting problems, including disposal of waste. Thorium is widely available in the sandy beaches of India and is a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive element that is being heralded by advocates as a safer alternative to uranium that could help limit the production of nuclear waste and prevent nuclear technology from being used for energy.

The Indian government publicly has said that it wants to promote new nuclear plants running on thorium to help meet its soaring energy needs. Moreover, India has large resources of Thorium whereas the quality of Uranium produced in the country is not suitable for nuclear power generation. Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates, and many others also have expressed interest.

Proponents of thorium say that it has multiple advantages over uranium fuel. It is consumed more slowly in nuclear reactions than uranium, and has the potential to cut the volume of nuclear waste produced in half. Unlike a uranium reaction, a thorium fuel reaction doesn't produce weapons-usable plutonium, which would allay concerns about developing countries pursuing nuclear weapons under the pretext of nuclear energy. And proponents also say that thorium fuel could be used in new and existing reactors without companies having to make major changes to their reactor designs or fork out money for retrofits.

The dilemma of nuclear waste disposal, a longtime political lightning rod, is part of the reason no new nuclear plant has been approved for construction in the United States in some 30 years.

According to the world nuclear association, however, there are some technical and financial hurdles that need to be resolved. There is a small concern, for instance, that the type of uranium that is formed in the reaction, if it were to be isolated, could still be used to make weapons.

This development will pave the way for the development of the plentiful thorium resources in the country.