At last someone is building a Thorium LFTR

We've been breeding uranium 238 into plutonium 239 since 1944 and still can't make decent breeders.

The Canadians were testing thorium in the Zeep reactor by 1947. There's nothing new under the sun.

Until they can pump prime one thorium fuelled reactor from another this is just a way of stretching the 0.7% of uranium 235 a wee bit. Even if they can pump prime it isn't much use unless they can do it quickly enough.

https://www.neimagazine.com/news/china-refuels-thorium-reactor-without-shutdown/?cf-view

Chinese scientists have refuelled an experimental thorium-fueled molten salt reactor continuously without shutting it down. The Chinese prototype reached full operational power in June 2024, and in October researchers reloaded fuel while the reactor remained online, a world-first. # 1

…

The reactor design uses molten fluoride salts to dissolve the thorium fuel, functioning both as a coolant and as a carrier of fissile material. This allows the system to operate at high temperatures exceeding 700°C, but without the high pressures associated with traditional reactors. The use of thorium-232, which must be converted into fissile uranium-233, enables a completely different nuclear fuel cycle with a lower risk of proliferation and significantly fewer long-lived radioactive waste products.

… The reactor produces very low amounts of plutonium-239, the isotope commonly used in nuclear weapons, and the uranium-233

… China has already broken ground on a larger, 10 MWe demonstration reactor, also located near Wuwei in Gansu Province, which will generate both electricity and hydrogen. This facility, slated for completion by 2030, is designed to produce 60 MW of thermal energy, contributing to China’s larger goal of building a renewable and low-carbon energy hub in the desert. # 2

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However, Chinese scientists point out that this is no instant victory. According to Guangming Daily, there are “no quick wins” and technical hurdles remain significant. The corrosive nature of molten salts, for instance, demands custom-built alloys like Hastelloy-N, capable of withstanding both radiation and chemical degradation. These materials must function reliably for decades, under extreme temperatures and in radioactive environments.

The SINAP team used the current 2 MW reactor as a materials testbed, experimenting with corrosion-resistant graphite and metals. These validations are essential before scaling up. Another challenge is thorium’s nature as a fertile, rather than fissile, material. The reactor needs an initial load of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 to start the chain reaction until enough uranium-233 is bred from the thorium.

Furthermore, the online chemical processing required to remove fission byproducts and balance salt chemistry adds another layer of complexity. Unlike conventional reactors that rely on solid fuel rods, thorium reactors must continuously manage liquid radioactive material, which presents unique engineering and safety challenges.

Even waste management remains an open issue. While thorium reactors generate far less long-lived waste, they produce a complex mix of fission products that must be handled with care. China plans to store this waste underground in the Gobi Desert, capitalising on the region’s geological stability and arid conditions.

#1 see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_refuelling for list of reactor types that can also do this.

#2 10MW by 2030 in a place where transporting fossil fuel would be significantly expensive.

In semiconductors Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) which is much faster than silicon is widely recognised as the future and as the saying goes "always was and always will" It's faster but silicon keeps being good enough to leave only niche roles for the more expensive and harder to work with GaAs. 1980's satellite TV LNB's had GHz that people using liquid helium to cool CPU's still can't reach today.

Uranium is good enough. It may be even cheaper than reprocessing fuel.

Thorium can be used to stretch uranium fuel but that's a long way from over-unity breeding which this setup has till to demonstrate.

Thorium has been used plenty of times in commercial (and military) reactors. Shipping port was one of the early ones. Fort St Vrain was converted to gas. A lot of China's pebble bed reactor tech (different reactor) is based directly on the German reactors.

McMurdo SMR LOL , AKA "Nukey poo"