China has world’s first operational thorium nuclear reactor thanks to ‘strategic stamina’
China has world’s first operational thorium nuclear reactor thanks to ‘strategic stamina’
www.scmp.com ‘No quick wins’: China has the world’s first operational thorium nuclear reactor
Team working on project reportedly achieves milestone by completing fuel reloading while experimental molten salt reactor was running.
It marks the first long-term, stable operation of the technology, putting China at the forefront of a global race to harness thorium – considered a safer and more abundant alternative to uranium – for nuclear power.
The experimental reactor, located in the Gobi Desert in China’s west, uses molten salt as the fuel carrier and coolant, and thorium – a radioactive element abundant in the Earth’s crust – as the fuel source. The reactor is reportedly designed to sustainably generate 2 megawatts of thermal power.
