Nuclear Phase-Out Comes at a High Cost
The war in Ukraine greatly alarmed us all. Truly, it hit very deep. Many feared that we would run out of gas in winter and have to freeze. Fortunately, none of that happened because our government acted promptly. But even though everything turned out well again, we in Germany learned one thing from the situation: never again to expose ourselves to such blackmailing dependencies on other countries’ energy raw materials.
That is easier said than done. After all, Robert Habeck’s energy-saving plans, which we listened to while keeping a wary eye on the gas storage level, require a vast amount of new commodities. Over 90% of the technology metals and rare earths used in wind turbines and solar panels come from China. However, this country, like Russia, is known for not taking the territorial independence of other states too seriously. In view of the situation with Taiwan, Germany and the other EU states have a healthy interest in becoming less dependent on technology metals and rare earths.
High-Risk Technology vs. High-Risk Dependencies
Against the backdrop of these escalating dependencies, the German government shut down the last three operational power plants on April 15. This phase-out may come at a high cost. Because this not only increases our dependence on China and liquefied natural gas imports from Qatar, but also necessitates importing hard coal from Colombia to compensate for the nuclear phase-out. We are moving backward!
Certainly, much speaks against nuclear power as it has been used so far. However, research in this area is also evolving. For example, in the 1970s, Germany conducted an experiment with thorium molten salt reactors, which offer many advantages. While earlier reactors utilized only 2% of the uranium’s energy, molten salt reactors make 90% of the thorium used exploitable. This significantly reduces waste, which also has a half-life of only 300 years, a considerable improvement compared to the 100,000 years of uranium waste from older reactors. Most importantly, thorium molten salt reactors are much safer. A second Fukushima is therefore extremely unlikely. Why was this technology not even mentioned during the Anne Will broadcast on the nuclear phase-out?
Upgrade Nuclear Power Plants, Don't Shut Them Down!
According to the Öko-Institut e.V., the reason for this is unmanageable technical and financial risks. More precisely, there was an “incident” during the experiment with the thorium molten salt reactor in 1987. The reactor was shut down because fuel element spheres had broken due to the forced and thus improper insertion of a control rod. Graphite dust was generated. During the unsuccessful attempt to remove it, a small amount of radioactivity was released into the environment. However, the entire event was far from a catastrophe on the scale of Fukushima. The timid silence regarding this technology is therefore not justified.
Thorium is extracted from monazite ore, which often also contains large quantities of rare earths. The Noble Group team recently visited a mine in South Africa where thorium and rare earths have been mined in the past. If this mine were to become a European contract partner and resume operations, it would be a huge boost to Europe’s supply of future-relevant commodities.
We conclude: disasters like Fukushima and the war in Ukraine provide a certain incentive for brainstorming. But how about research-optimistic foresight and technological openness instead? For example, the old reactors could be “upgraded” with thorium technology.
Self-determined planning also creates a certain sense of calm and security. This way, one stops constantly just reacting. Actively determine how you want to live and invest in rare earths. These offer good chances for attractive returns, in addition to tax-free purchase and tax-free profits after a one-year holding period.