DAVID HESS | OPINION


Eyes have been collectively opened to the potential of nuclear energy, an energy source that is still in its infancy, to evolve beyond what


it is today. Thorium fans have simply melted into the crowd of the 80 or more advanced reactor and SMR designs that are now being developed globally, and which industry should be immensely grateful for


Indeed, it feels natural now to talk about thorium fans


in the past sense not because they no longer exist, but because most of us have our own preferred advanced nuclear reactor technology now – and that’s ok. Eyes have been collectively opened to the potential of nuclear energy, an energy source that is still in its infancy, to evolve beyond what it is today. Thorium fans have simply melted into the crowd of the 80 or more advanced reactor and SMR designs that are now being developed globally, and which industry should be immensely grateful for. The default thorium fantasy reactor – the molten salt


reactor – is being actively advanced now by private interests such as Moltex and Terrestrial, but these companies are at least initially working towards uranium-fuelled designs. Thorcon springs to mind as a start-up that is actively pursuing thorium from the get-go. It’s fair to say that most people in the established nuclear industry are not die-hard uranium-fans, they are simply fans of what works. Pragmatists don’t care whether uranium is theoretically better than thorium, or vice versa, according to some arcane metric, we care that uranium-fuelled designs have a proven track record of constructability and safe operations, with existing assets capable of operating for 60 years or longer. Uranium simply out-competed thorium in the same way that VHS out-competed beta-max, by being first and not necessarily better. But things keep changing. Just as VHS has long since


given way to DVD, Blu-ray and digital files, we can expect nuclear technologies to change profoundly in the future. We can be confident that things will change, although can only guess at what that distant future holds. Thorium could well make a come-back and there are


good reasons why it should. Imagine what an immense improvement it would be to the overall resilience of the nuclear sector if utilities had the flexibility to switch between uranium and thorium as a hedge for resource availability and price volatility. In a world where the different kinds of fossil fuels – coal, gas and oil – have all been phased out and nuclear plays a greater role in meeting overall energy demand, this diversity of nuclear fuel resource becomes even more essential.


To build on a theme raised in previous columns


appearing here in NEi, the nuclear industry needs to improve its offering significantly if it is to meet the needs of a fossil-free, triple global nuclear generation capacity and truly equitable future. Given the zeal of the thorium fan, it is somewhat


ironic that uranium seems to be a prerequisite for the development of a thorium fuel cycle. This is the case with India’s forward-planned fuel cycle at least, while the Chinese experimental molten salt reactor that started operating in 2023 does so with enriched uranium core and about 50 kilograms of thorium loaded. Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors are perhaps the most versatile reactor designs currently operating, and thorium-based fuels have been designed and tested in AECL’s Chalk River laboratories – hybrids with uranium oxide or plutonium oxide. As so often turns out to be the case with many superficially divisive topics within the nuclear community, the reality is that thorium could be as much a complement to uranium as it is competition. Ultimately, those annoying thorium fans may have done


more good for future nuclear prospects than is appreciated. Despite recent improved public acceptance globally it is true that many people are reluctant to embrace nuclear energy the way it is presented today. The nuclear industry’s reputation has been tarnished by a litany of over budget, late construction projects and a mainstream media focus on accidents and near-misses. People need a bright shiny aspirational technology to initially accept the possibility of new nuclear energy, and only then to become more familiar with the issues and to look past what they think they know. Advanced nuclear technologies, including thorium and fusion, are the gateway-drug that encourage people to understand nuclear energy more deeply and become less afraid of it. It is genuinely exciting to see thorium R&D advance. If and when thorium technologies reach maturity, the global nuclear industry should not hesitate to integrate this fuel. Respect is owed to the researchers and visionaries that continue to defy the status quo and work diligently to make this happen. ■


People need a bright shiny aspirational technology to initially accept the possibility of new nuclear energy, and only then to become more familiar with the issues and to look past what they think they know. Advanced nuclear technologies, including thorium and fusion,


are the gateway-drug that encourage people to understand nuclear energy more deeply and become less afraid of it


www.neimagazine.com | March 2024 | 13


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