thorium nuclear reactors

The technology is still in development, and there are currently no nuclear reactors fueled by thorium. Today's nuclear reactors are fueled by uranium or plutonium. But using thorium as a fuel to run a nuclear power plant has an important geopolitical angle that will be more and more important in the future.

... global commitment to phasing out the use of all fossil fuels by mid-century, nuclear power stations would require to be built at two per week for the next 20 years to replace coal, oil and gas by that date. Even if this build-rate were possible, it is predicted that economically extractable uranium and thorium would be depleted ...

Discovered in 1828 by Sweden-based chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, thorium is a naturally-occurring radioactive material found in small amounts in rocks ... Since 2008, nuclear energy experts have shown key interests in thorium to supply nuclear fuel in place of uranium in order to generate nuclear power.

With the completion of the under construction and sanctioned projects, the total nuclear power installed capacity in the country will reach 22,480 MW… by the year 2031.” He added. ... India has large deposits of thorium, but has not built and operate a commercial thorium fueled reactor for power generation.

But in the original European documentary “Thorium: The Far Side of Nuclear Power,” directed by Myriam Tonelotto of France, Weinberg appears as a French-speaking animated character. The film is dedicated in memoriam to Alvin Weinberg (1915-2006). I watched the French version and read the English ...

The detailed engineering design roadmap was announced on March 7th by Geni Rina Sunaryo, Batan's director of nuclear reactor safety and technology. The detailed ... Batan is promoting the introduction of nuclear power plants in Indonesia to help meet the county's demand for power. It envisages the ...

It is not surprising that the great takeaway of French president Emmanuel Macron's recent visit to India relates to nuclear power. India has an ... It is now quite in order that India and France will work together on that Valhalla of India's energy self-reliance, the fast-breeder reactor using thorium. Of course, at a ...

Formerly Thorium Power Ltd., the company's breakthrough fuel technology is establishing new global standards for safe and clean nuclear power and leading ... Lightbridge consultants provide integrated strategic advice and expertise across a range of disciplines including regulatory affairs, nuclear reactor ...

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), one of the country's two leading nuclear power companies, is stepping up its overseas cooperation, the chairperson said Saturday. Progress is ... In Ghana, the CNNC has helped convert a local highly-enriched uranium nuclear reactor into a low-enriched one.

BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), one of the country's two leading nuclear power companies, is stepping up its overseas cooperation, the ... In Ghana, the CNNC has helped convert a local highly-enriched uranium nuclear reactor into a low-enriched one. Last year ...

Nuclear power could step in. China is set to lean heavily on the technology, with ... Nuclear proponents point to new technologies, from small modular reactors to thorium plants, which could potentially overcome many of the disadvantages of today's designs. But bringing these novel reactor ideas to market ...

To generate power, a nuclear reactor uses some fissile isotopes that include uranium-235, plutonium-239, and uranium-233. Low-enriched uranium (LEU) is used widely in the nuclear power generation. Discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, Thorium is a naturally-occurring ...

The irradiation of two fuel pins containing thorium-plutonium oxide pellets is under way at the Halden research reactor in Norway. Thor Energy ... We believe this represents a further step in the thorium evolution which will contribute to the long-term sustainability of nuclear power in general." The Thorium ...

Weapons-grade plutonium (plutonium-239) is one of the dangerous radioactive by-products of nuclear power, and with a half-life of over 24,000 years, it's tricky to store and dispose of. ... Once things get cooking in a nuclear reactor, the chain reaction can essentially keep feeding back into itself. Neutrons ...

That's long been the promise of a nuclear reactor technology that uses naturally occurring, mildly radioactive thorium salts instead of uranium. Now, a Dutch nuclear materials firm called NRG has successfully begun testing nuclear fission using thorium salts. It's the first one since thorium experiments at the ...

Ultimately, the researchers will have to figure out how to dispose of the waste created by thorium -- which is substantially less toxic than that produced by a nuclear reactor. With the fear of nuclear disasters (and nuclear war) on the rise, a switch to safer nuclear power couldn't come at a better time. Not to ...

Thorium has long held promise for “safer” nuclear power. A slightly radioactive element, it transforms into fissionable U-233 when hit by high-energy neutrons. But after use, U-233 creates fewer long-lived radioactive waste products than the conventional U-235 now used in nuclear power plants.

Netherlands-based nuclear power provider, NRG, are taking a gamble. They're conducting experiments that could see a shift from uranium-based nuclear power to thorium. In the historical battle between using uranium or thorium as a nuclear fuel, uranium provided both sides of the Cold War with a ...

The road to cleaner, meltdown-proof nuclear power has taken a big step forward. Researchers at NRG, a Dutch nuclear materials firm, have begun the first tests of nuclear fission using thorium salts since experiments ended at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the early 1970s. Thorium has several ...

Now a Utah startup is developing a thorium reactor, perhaps the first in the U.S. in half a century, and a consortium of eastern Utah counties is exploring whether to participate in the project. The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition (SCIC) last month issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) seeking a ...

By using thorium as a catalyst, the reactor is able to burn nuclear waste from conventional reactors, meaning it could help to reduce the problem of radioactive waste storage. “We take waste from existing nuclear power plants and we burn the transuranic elements of it, the longest-lasting part of the waste,” ...

The award of the contracts indicates that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India has got cracking on implementing its landmark 7.7 GW nuclear expansion. ... by Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) and the third stage Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), which will tap into the country's thorium reserves.

The United States still has the largest network of nuclear power plants in the world — bigger even than France, which gets about three-quarters of its power from nuclear. ... Most promisingly, advanced reactors using thorium and other materials are theoretically vastly superior to existing nuclear designs.