The Great Rise of China's Nuclear Power: Taking the Lead, Overcoming the Thorium Molten Salt Reactor

Editor's Note: In terms of uranium-based reactors, Russia and the United States have a technological advantage, especially Russia holds 90% of the global market for uranium-based reactor construction.

Chinese nuclear power professionals did not choose to follow their competitors; they chose to bet on thorium, a fuel that has the potential to provide meltdown-proof power, with extremely clean waste that can almost be buried in one's backyard.

The benefits of thorium reactors go beyond safety. In addition to abundant reserves and safety, thorium reactors can also revolutionize energy distribution. Due to their smaller size and higher modularity, they can provide electricity for remote communities, military bases, and even space exploration. Imagine this: clean and reliable energy, everywhere. This could fundamentally change how the world is powered. We no longer need to rely on large centralized grids.

While China leads far ahead, the United States, once a pioneer in molten salt reactor research, is now trying to catch up. The United States is investing in advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors [SMR], but can it compete with China's rapidly deployed thorium-based reactors? Dr. Edwin Lyman, a nuclear physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said, "The U.S. has the expertise, but it needs to speed up to maintain competitiveness in this new energy race." At the same time, countries such as India and the UK are also exploring thorium-based reactors, indicating a possible shift in the global nuclear energy field. For example, India has been developing its own thorium-based reactors as part of its three-stage nuclear program, aiming to achieve energy independence by 2050.

China's thorium molten salt reactor is a bold initiative that may redefine nuclear energy, and we are witnessing the dawn of a new era.

CCTV: China's Nuclear Energy Technology Achieves New Breakthrough, New Nuclear Energy System Is Unique Worldwide

According to CCTV News, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that the fourth-generation advanced fission nuclear energy system - the thorium molten salt experimental reactor, independently designed, developed, and built by China, has recently been completed in Wuwei, Gansu, and has achieved the first thorium-uranium conversion within the reactor.

The report states that the establishment of this nuclear energy system is expected to break China's reliance on uranium fuel, using China's abundant thorium element as nuclear fuel, providing important support for national energy security and sustainable development.

It is reported that the newly built thorium molten salt experimental reactor is currently the only operating molten salt reactor in the world that has implemented thorium fuel loading. The thorium molten salt experimental reactor is a nuclear energy system that uses thorium as nuclear fuel and liquid fluoride salt as coolant, with inherent safety, no water cooling, atmospheric pressure operation, and high-temperature output, among other advantages.

The thorium molten salt reactor is a clean and efficient energy system. When combined with high-temperature molten salt energy storage, high-temperature hydrogen production, solar energy, wind energy, and coal oil chemical industry, it can form a multi-energy complementary, low-carbon composite energy system and low-carbon chemical industry system.

Sources: CCTV + National Interest + Incredible Construction

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847664543033609/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.