China legt Starttermin für weltweit erstes Thorium-Kernkraftwerk mit geschmolzenem Salz fest

Submission Statement:

China plans to start building the world’s first molten salt reactor power station next year in the [Gobi Desert](https://archive.is/o/zGs0E/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3252564/china-builds-electric-power-gobi-and-western-deserts-equal-half-us-capacity.The) reactor does not need water for cooling because it uses liquid salt and carbon dioxide to transfer heat and generate electricity.Using thorium as its primary fuel, it means worries over a potential shortage of uranium – the usual fuel used in nuclear reactors – are allayed, as thorium is more abundant than uranium.According to some [scientists’](https://archive.is/o/zGs0E/https://www.scmp.com/topics/china-science) estimates, China has enough thorium reserves to meet its energy needs for 20,000 years.The reactor is scheduled to be completed and operational in 2029, generating heat at a maximum power of 60 megawatts.Part of the thermal energy will drive a 10MW electric power unit, and the rest will produce hydrogen by splitting water molecules at high temperature.The small, [modular](https://archive.is/o/zGs0E/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3244234/small-modular-nuclear-reactors-how-china-and-us-are-poles-apart-energy-ambitions), thorium-based molten salt reactor power station will be constructed and operated by the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.