Thorium-based nuclear power

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Thorium-based nuclear power generation is fueled primarily by the nuclear fission of the isotope uranium-233 produced from the fertile element thorium. A thorium fuel cycle can offer several potential advantages over a uranium fuel cycle—including the much greater abundance of thorium found on Earth, superior physical and nuclear fuel properties, and reduced nuclear waste production. Thorium fuel also has a lower weaponization potential because it is difficult to weaponize the uranium-233 that is bred in the reactor. Plutonium-239 is produced at much lower levels and can be consumed in thorium reactors. Thorium was first used in a commercial reactor in 1962, at the Indian Point Energy Center. Since then, several other commercial reactors have been fueled using thorium, including light-water reactors and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The feasibility of a thorium fuel cycle at a large scale was demonstrated through the design, construction and successful operation of the thorium-based Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) core installed at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station. The reactor of this power plant was designed to accommodate different cores. The thorium core was rated at 60 MW(e), produced power from 1977 through 1982 (producing over 2.1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity) and converted enough thorium-232 into uranium-233 to achieve a 1.014 breeding ratio. Indian heavy-water reactors have for a long time used thorium-bearing fuel alongside uranium and plutonium. There was considerable interest in using thorium instead of uranium between the 1950s and 1970s, particularly in the United States and Germany, to supplement limited supplies of uranium. However, enthusiasm largely declined due to the discovery of large deposits of uranium. Worldwide interest in thorium fuel cycles picked up later due to interest in proliferation-resistant fuel cycles. Nuclear scientists Ralph W. Moir and Edward Teller suggested in 2005 that research on thorium-fueled molten-salt reactors should be restarted after...