Thunder on the Horizon

Abstract

This article discusses the advantageous usage of thorium-based breeder reactors in the nuclear industry. Since thorium is more abundant than uranium and can be turned into fuel without the enrichment process needed to concentrate U-235, experts believe that the thorium fuel cycle could be more sustainable than the uranium cycle. The addition of thorium to the fluid salt helps reduce uranium consumption. ThorCon, a Florida-based nuclear power startup, has developed the ThorCon reactor that will be breeding some of its own fuel by irradiating thorium. Thorium is about three times more abundant than uranium, and all of it can be used to create a fuel source for nuclear reactors. Thor Energy is developing two different families of thorium-based fuels with both U-235 and Pu-239 as the fissile driver material. The interest in thorium suggests that it is going to take an unconventional approach to lead to the much-anticipated Nuclear Renaissance.