China’s TMSR-LF1 Molten Salt Thorium Reactor Begins Live Refueling Operations
1 min read
Summary
China has demonstrated its approach to using thorium to fuel reactors, a decade-long research and development process drawing on research from the 1960s.
Its fourth-generation molten salt reactor, which can breed uranium fuel from thorium and filter out contaminants, has now been used to refuel a live reactor and its design can now be scaled up for further testing.
The use of thorium in reactors could provide a new long-term sustainable fuel source for nuclear power as there is enough to last for tens of thousands of years and it doesn’t require constant water cooling, making it ideal for arid regions.
Other nations, including India, have focused on using thorium fuels for reactors but the scale and success of the Chinese project means it is now likely to be widely adopted.
