Can thorium nuclear energy make a comeback?

Published: 31 March 2023
on channel: DW Planet A

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9.2k

Nuclear energy gets a pretty bad rap – for good reasons. But thorium, a weakly radioactive element, is hailed to fix all its problems: no meltdowns, less waste, no bombs. We developed a molten-salt reactor to unlock its potential decades ago – but then turned our backs on it. Was that a huge mistake?

Credits:
Reporter: Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Video Editor: Frederik Willmann
Supervising Editor: Michael Trobridge

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

#PlanetA #Thorium #Nuclear

Read More:

Atomic Energy Commission report on molten-salt reactors (1972):
https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/43...

Oak Ridge report on Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment (1969):
http://www.thmfgrcs.com/NAT_MSREexper...

Problems with molten-salt reactors:
https://thebulletin.org/2022/06/molte...

World Nuclear Association's fact-sheet on thorium:
https://world-nuclear.org/information...

3D reactor animation in thumbnail courtesy of Flibe Energy.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:12 Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment
03:40 Power couple
05:26 What went wrong?
07:41 Today's vision
08:32 The road ahead

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