- Oct 17, 2011
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China has announced a major breakthrough in advanced nuclear energy. It has successfully achieved the first-ever conversion of thorium into uranium fuel within a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (TMSR).
The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) confirmed that it has secured valid experimental data after loading the reactor with thorium, as reported by Global Times.
The experimental TMSR built by SINAP, in cooperation with other Chinese institutions, is a unique facility. It currently stands as the only operational molten-salt reactor in the world that is actively loaded with and testing thorium fuel.
Experts have long viewed thorium reactors as the next leap in energy innovation. Some scientists estimate that a single thorium-rich mine in Inner Mongolia could theoretically supply China’s energy needs for tens of thousands of years with far less radioactive waste than current uranium-based reactors.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) confirmed that it has secured valid experimental data after loading the reactor with thorium, as reported by Global Times.
The experimental TMSR built by SINAP, in cooperation with other Chinese institutions, is a unique facility. It currently stands as the only operational molten-salt reactor in the world that is actively loaded with and testing thorium fuel.
Experts have long viewed thorium reactors as the next leap in energy innovation. Some scientists estimate that a single thorium-rich mine in Inner Mongolia could theoretically supply China’s energy needs for tens of thousands of years with far less radioactive waste than current uranium-based reactors.