Nuclear Power
China To Build A Thorium Powered Nuclear Reactor
Why is this tech so slow to mature? Is it the lack of death benefit?
A dream
China has unveiled plans for a nuclear-powered container ship expected to be the largest ever built, powered by a thorium reactor and with a load capacity of 24,000 standard containers.
Jiangnan Shipyard, a division of state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), said the KUN-24AP, featuring a thorium-based Generation IV molten salt reactor, would prove safer and more efficient than the uranium reactors currently used to power warships.
Realism
The ship seems to be little more than a dream, but on land China is on the verge of a significant breakthrough in nuclear energy with the construction of the world’s first thorium-based molten sodium cooled nuclear power station.
This innovative reactor uses thorium, a more abundant fuel than uranium, and a molten sodium coolant, eliminating the need for water and reducing the risk of accidents. Thorium, a naturally occurring radioactive element, has emerged as a promising alternative fuel for nuclear reactors.
