Indian nuclear scientists will take three steps to improve their experience and expertise before they start on the design of a 1,000 MW fast breeder reactor that will not only generate electricity, but produce more fuel than it consumes.

Building a new 120 MW test reactor powered by metallic fuel, setting up a 500 MW fast breeder reactor having the flexibility to convert to metallic fuel from mixed oxide fuel and changing the existing fast breeder test reactor's (FBTR) core into a metallic core are the steps laid down by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) towards designing a 1,000 MW fast reactor by 2018.