Thorium reactors: Germany does not have an energy problem, but rather an innovation phobia
The slogan “Nuclear power, no thanks!” is a thing of the past. Nevertheless, we still live and act as if research had not advanced a single millimeter. This could cost us dearly, as molten salt reactors using thorium can produce energy not only with lower risk, but also significantly cheaper than conventional nuclear power plants.
A half-life of 300 years instead of 7.4 million years
Austria has recognised this. Researchers in Graz are working on a safe thorium reactor without long-term waste or uranium. With a new design, the scientists want to bring nuclear power back in a clean form. Although nuclear energy is legally prohibited in Austria, the law refers to reactors that are now outdated and leave behind nuclear waste with half-lives of around 7.4 million years. Thorium reactors work completely differently; their half-lives are only about 300 years. The developers therefore hope for approval in the near future.
Export hit: low-risk nuclear power?
The reactor is so small that it fits into a shipping container. In fact, the manufacturers are considering exporting it to neighbouring European countries. Austria does not have any active nuclear power plants of its own, but it is surrounded by those of its neighbours. And these are still built using the old, risky design. With their new model, the developers want to offer Austria’s neighbouring countries an option to switch to more efficient, lower-risk nuclear power.
Switching nuclear power instead of phasing it out
Germany could also be a potential buyer of this technology. The prerequisite would be to reframe the “nuclear phase-out” carried out in 2022 as a “nuclear transition”. German researchers have also developed a thorium-based molten-salt reactor. However, due to the nuclear exit, its construction is not possible in Germany, so the power plant is being built in Rwanda instead.
Electricity generation with thorium would be 350 times cheaper
Thorium is a special material. A small vial of it is enough to supply 4 households with energy for a year. While electricity from uranium reactors costs €10 per electrical megawatt-hour, electricity from thorium reactors costs only €0.029. That is 350 times cheaper. The heavy metal can be converted in power plants into uranium-233, which then provides the low-cost energy through nuclear fission. The cooling is also interesting: it is not done with water, but with the molten salt in which the fuels are dissolved. Because it does not depend on water-cooling systems, the reactor cannot melt down. It simply shuts itself down as soon as the fuel flows out of the reactor zone. Thorium molten-salt reactors are therefore classified as 100% safe.
Potential hazardous waste as a green energy supplier
In China, the government approved the first of these reactors last year. With its green-produced electricity, it is now making an important contribution to China’s plan to become climate-neutral by 2060. China has a decisive advantage here, as thorium is produced as a by-product in the production of rare earths such as neodymium oxide, scandium oxide, and dysprosium oxide. As European countries also increasingly want to enter the production of these critical commodities, an increased production of thorium is also expected here. How EU countries will use the commodity remains to be seen: in some countries, thorium will end up uselessly as hazardous waste on a landfill; in others, it will serve as a cost-effective green energy supplier. By the way, you can also buy thorium from Noble BC.