India's future fast breeder reactors will run on metallic fuel from 2020 onwards. Fast breeder reactors have self sustaining capability and the rate at which extra plutonium can be generated is more with metallic fuel than the carbide fuel which is presently used. By 2017 the core of the fast breeder test reactor (FBTR) will be completely converted to metallic fuel. The reprocessing system of metallic fuel is highly complex and difficult and the IGCAR will setup this facility and make it operational by 2014. India has already created a world record by achieving a burn-up of 1,55,00 Mwdays/tonne and is looking forward to the metallic fuel technology. Higher burn-up will reduce the fuel cycle cost. Despite all these developments the prototype fast breeder reactors (PFBR) are not compatible with the metallic fuel technology.

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