Oil is clean energy. So are coal and wood.
We’ve been developing and refining power production in the nuclear field for decades. Thorium reactors are still being developed and refined. Their ability to answer production problems short term aren’t here. AI energy needs and wants are. One won’t solve the giant energy hole AI is making. The timing don’t jive IMO
Move over, uranium. Get out of here, water. Thorium and salt are the new MVPs of nuclear power.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a64550626/thorium-reactor-nuclear-power/
Sad.
This statement is unvarnished balderdash. Thorium is reaching the point where it is going to be a leading nuclear power source in the not-so-distant future. Here is a summary from Gemini:
“As of **May 2026**, thorium-based reactor development has transitioned from decades of theoretical research into a high-stakes “technology race.” While uranium still dominates the commercial sector, the last 24 months have seen breakthrough milestones—most notably in China and India—that suggest thorium is finally moving toward commercial viability.
## 1. China: The Global Frontrunner
China currently holds a significant lead, having successfully moved past the experimental phase into practical “fuelization proof.”
* **TMSR-LF1 Success:** China's 2-megawatt experimental liquid-fuel thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR-LF1) in the Gobi Desert achieved full operational power in **June 2024**.
* **2026 Breakthrough:** In **April 2026**, the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics verified “fuelization proof,” successfully demonstrating the continuous conversion of thorium into fissile Uranium-233 within a salt-based system.
* **The Roadmap:** China is now fast-tracking a **10 MW Small Modular Reactor (SMR)** targeted for 2030 and a **100 MW prototype** by 2035. They have also announced plans to use thorium reactors to power large-scale container ships, potentially allowing for years of voyage time without refueling.
## 2. India: The Three-Stage Milestone
India possesses some of the world's largest thorium reserves and has long pursued a unique three-stage nuclear program to achieve energy independence.
* **PFBR Criticality (April 2026):** On **April 6, 2026**, India's indigenously built **500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)** at Kalpakkam attained its first criticality.
* **The Transition:** This is a pivotal moment because the PFBR marks India's official entry into **Stage 2**. This stage is designed to use plutonium to “breed” Uranium-233 from thorium.
* **Stage 3 Goal:** This success paves the way for Stage 3, where thorium will become the primary fuel source in Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs), with a goal of operational readiness by **2030**.
## 3. Western and Private Sector Momentum
In North America and Europe, development is largely driven by private companies and a shift toward **Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)**.
* **Copenhagen Atomics (Denmark):** They are currently preparing to test a full-scale prototype at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland (**2026–2027**), aiming for commercial units by **2030**.
* **North American Funding:** The U.S. and Canada have seen a surge in funding for next-generation designs. Companies like **Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation** are integrating thorium into micro-modular designs for remote industrial use, while **TerraPower** continues to explore thorium as a long-term supplement to their natrium-based designs.
* **Netherlands (NRG):** The Petten research reactor continues to provide critical data on how thorium fuels behave under long-term irradiation, which is essential for global licensing and safety standards.
## 4. The Thorium Cycle Explained
Unlike Uranium-235, which is “fissile” (can sustain a chain reaction immediately), thorium-232 is “fertile.” It must first absorb a neutron to become Uranium-233.
### Key Technical Comparisons (2026 Data)
| Feature | Thorium Reactors (MSR/LFTR) | Conventional Uranium (LWR) |
| :-— | :-— | :-— |
| **Abundance** | 3–4x more abundant than uranium. | Relatively finite high-grade reserves. |
| **Safety** | Passive safety; fuel is liquid and drains if power fails. | Active cooling required to prevent meltdown. |
| **Waste** | Produces significantly fewer long-lived transuranic elements. | Produces plutonium and long-lived waste. |
| **Proliferation** | Difficult to weaponize (high gamma radiation from U-232). | Plutonium byproduct can be diverted. |
| **Efficiency** | Operates at higher temperatures; higher thermal efficiency. | Lower operating temperatures; less efficient. |
## Current Challenges & Outlook
Despite the recent momentum, two main “bottlenecks” remain:
1. **Material Corrosion:** In Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs), the combination of high heat and chemically aggressive salts is hard on reactor vessels. Research in 2026 is heavily focused on **nickel-based superalloys** and specialized coatings.
2. **Regulatory Hurdles:** Most global nuclear regulations were written specifically for solid-fuel uranium reactors. Regulators in the U.S. and EU are only now beginning to create the frameworks necessary to license liquid-fuel systems.
It is certainly not being kept a secret.
**Bottom Line:** 2026 is being viewed as the “Year of Proof” for thorium. With China operating a functional loop and India starting its breeder program, the technology has moved from a “maybe” to a “when.””
Written in the same style as someone saying they invented cars that get 1000 miles per liter of water. But BIG OIL is holding them back.
Sure thorium reactors may work. But in the mean time we have plenty of cheap coal and gas.
thorium
make skynet possible
They don’t want clean energy. They want rationed energy.
Source: 'Large, Stanford. Thorium as a Nuclear Fuel Source.'
All of that may be well and true, but someobe is going to have to build the reactors for it.
What about diLithium Crystals?
Thorium is fertile not fissile.
You must bombard it with neutrons and get it to capture them and then wait for it to decay to U233 which is fissile. This means you need U235 or Pu239 as the breeder starter fuel there is no way around this fact. You could use a particle accelerator at unthinkable expense to provide said neutron flux but thorium is not fuel it is breeding material nothing more. If you at a breeding fissile isotopes there is not one better than Pu239 it is the perfect fissile isotope only Np236 has a smaller crit mass and it’s super rare. Again if you are breeding fuel Pu239 is the goal , stop being ninnies about plutonium Jane Fonda is a commie lunatic. The French, Russians and Chinese all reprocess and burn MOX and we should too. There is ten thousand years worth of U238 for breeding just sitting as UF6 in cylinders at enrichment plants as waste right now today we don’t need to mine a single gram more. We need the political will to use the technology the USA invented but Clinton shutdown the IFR it worked flawlessly.
U233 is easier to chemically vs isotopic separate from thorium vs U235 is from U238 or Pu239 from spent fuel.
U233 is all bomb grade from the start unlike U239 which will always have Pu240/241 in reactor spent fuel. It’s never bomb grade. You need dedicated weapons reactors with very short irradiation cycles to make weapons grade Pu , thorium breeders do it as par for the course.
We don’t need new tech we need to have some Fing balls and make IFR reactors at scale.
I have friends and alumni working at Aalo in Austin they are the ones doing sodium cooled reactors for AI centers right now they have a working reactor at the National lab expected to go first crit on July 4th as part of the DOE renaissance program. They fully expect to burn Pu239 in the near future they chose sodium cooling specifically to be able to switch to the fast spectrum as soon as the USA grows a pair of balls.
We spend billions on the development of batteries that have with even future technology only a slim chance of being able to store enough energy to light a small city let alone power an AI center. This research is being funded to fix the problem of so called renewable sources that don’t generate any power when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Perhaps it is time to look at thorium
Maybe we can practice for Mars by first colonizing Antarctica or the Continental Shelf. Sort out dealing with Martian like temperatures/lack of breathable air first. And work on safe, economical, and relatively clean nuclear energy as an existential priority.
You have never dealt with a treehugger, have you? Not only are they more stupid than a turnip, they just refuse to listen. No better than the hired thugs rioting in the street against ICE.
Simple Uranium will supply us for thousands of years, but no treehugger will let that happen.