Electricity generated through nuclear fission was invented by Enrico Fermi in 1942. Although high electrical power can be generated with a small amount of fuel, there is a risk of radiation and fuel that will then take tens of thousands of years to be disposed of. Therefore, China has begun research on a safer thorium nuclear reactor with a reactor operating in the Gobi Desert since June 2024.
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced the success of adding fuel to a thorium reactor without interruption of operation. This is the first time it has been successfully done and puts China at the forefront of the use of this energy source, according to a report by SCMP.
Thorium-232 fuel in the form of molten salt replaces uranium fuel. When bombarded with neutrons at a temperature of 600 degrees Celsius, it will change into the uranium-233 isotope which then undergoes a nuclear fission process. The heat produced turns water into steam that drives an electric generator. Thorium is also five times more abundant on Earth than plutonium.
Another advantage of this reactor is that it does not require a large supply of water for the cooling system. This is the reason why the reactor was built in the Gobi Desert to prove that it is not just a theory.
Uranium-233 has a half-life of only 500 years compared to Uranium-235 which reaches 10,000 years. Plutonium-239 is also not produced therefore there is no issue that it is then used to produce nuclear weapons. That is why it is considered cleaner than current nuclear reactors.
The prototype reactor being built in China is only 3 x 2.5 meters with the ability to generate 2 MW of energy. If all goes well, larger versions with an output of 100 MW will be built throughout China and 30 more in countries under the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative.
In addition to building thorium reactors, China is also simultaneously developing nuclear reactors using tokamak technology and also has the world's largest solar farm to meet the target of generating electricity using more sustainable technology.