China has officially approved commissioning the "Thorium Molten Salt Reactor - Liquid Fuel 1" (TMSR-LF1), a significant achievement in their pursuit of clean and efficient nuclear energy.
Chinese environment authorities have officially approved the commissioning of the "Thorium Molten Salt Reactor - Liquid Fuel 1" (TMSR-LF1), marking a significant step forward in China's pursuit of clean and efficient nuclear energy. As reported by Interesting Engineering, the reactor's construction in the Hongshagang Industrial Cluster in Wuwei City, Gansu Province, began in 2018 and was completed ahead of schedule in August 2021. This groundbreaking initiative has been made possible by leveraging the potential of thorium, a plentiful and promising alternative to uranium. Moreover, it is worth noting that Canada played a pivotal role in supporting this endeavor, with a collaborative agreement signed between SNC-Lavalin and the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in 2016. The Potential of Thorium The International Atomic Energy Agency explains that thorium, a silvery metal found abundantly in nature, is attracting global interest due to its advantages over conventional nuclear fuel, such as uranium-235. While thorium is not a nuclear fuel in itself, it can be utilized to produce a fissile material called uranium-233. This characteristic…