We are pleased to report that the recently announced expansion of Holtec Asia’s manufacturing plant located at Dahej in coastal Gujarat, India is now complete. This plant’s principal product is custom-engineered air-cooled condensers (ACCs) that are used to reject waste heat directly to air. With the increase in the installed production capacity, the Dahej plant can now produce 210,000 tubes per year (700 per day) which equates to 5,000 ACC bundles per year. The plant’s labor employment has also risen by ~80%. Holtec Asia, now among the largest ACC plants in the world, is well positioned to boost capacity to meet rising demand. Sister fabrication plants in other parts of the country, and in the Middle East, are being planned to place the factories closer to the customer.
The ACC has emerged as a major vehicle to combat thermal pollution of water caused by the vast amounts of heat rejected by power plants to their host regions’ rivers and waterways. By employing air cooling, the owner of the power plant is unfettered from locating the plant near a large body of water, allowing power to be produced near the locale where it is consumed.
Other technology initiatives underway in the Company’s ACC program include measures to improve the ACC’s performance in hot climates and its noise abatement ability. Holtec Asia is the only supplier that offers ACCs in both forced-draft and induced-draft configurations. Holtec Asia’s ACC division works closely with Holtec International’s Heat Transfer Division where many of the Company’s top thermal-hydraulic analysts are based.
Holtec’s ACC technology is imbedded in the Company’s flagship SMR-300 “walk away safe” nuclear plant which is available with both water cooling and air-cooling features, making the nuclear plant suitable for deployment in water-challenged areas. The first deployment of the SMR-300 reactors will occur in Covert, Michigan in 2030, as announced previously in our “Mission 2030” plan.
Holtec Asia’s ACC program is led by Holtec Asia’s VP Anil S. Raichur and Executive Director Amarjit Singh. “We are committed to alleviating the ill-effects of thermal pollution of natural bodies of water in India and other countries where our clients are based. Our ACCs can help greenify arid regions of the world by enabling power plants to be operated and used to distill sea or brackish water to irrigate the land, creating a virtuous loop for the environment. We hold making deserts bloom a worthy mission for our company,” stated Messrs. Raichur and Singh in a joint written statement.
The sterling reputation of Holtec Asia’s ACCs has been built on the strength of its rigorous quality assurance program which has been adapted from Holtec International’s corporate nuclear quality program. Recently, Holtec Asia breezed through the ISO-9001:2015 evaluation process securing certificate number IND 100 25395989.
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