---
title: "Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR): Kalpakkam | Model Diplomat"
description: "The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) in Kalpakkam, India, is crucial for validating breeder technology in the country's nuclear program since 1985."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/fast-breeder-test-reactor"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Fast Breeder Test Reactor is a sodium-cooled experimental fast reactor at Kalpakkam, India, commissioned in 1985 to validate plutonium-uranium carbide fuel and breeder technology.
- How does FBTR fit into India's three-stage nuclear programme?
- Why does FBTR use sodium as a coolant instead of water?
- What is the difference between FBTR and PFBR?
- Is FBTR under IAEA safeguards?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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Example

India's Department of Atomic Energy operated the Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam from its first criticality on 18 October 1985, using indigenous plutonium-uranium carbide fuel to validate the technology later applied to the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor.

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