The world’s first thorium-based nuclear reactor goes live in China

China has reached a landmark in nuclear research with the reported operation of the world’s first thorium-based molten salt reactor. The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics confirmed that the experimental unit has successfully converted thorium into uranium in a process described as a historic first.

The South China Morning Post reported that the achievement occurred at a test facility in the Gobi Desert. According to the outlet, the advance is expected to influence the future direction of clean nuclear energy development.

The reactor uses a sequence of reactions in which thorium-232 absorbs a neutron and becomes thorium-233. That isotope decays into protactinium-233 and then into uranium-233. The resulting material can sustain fission chain reactions.

Science and Technology Daily disclosed the breakthrough this month. Officials said the system has been running for an extended period. Li Qingnuan, Communist Party secretary and deputy director at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, stated that the reactor has consistently produced heat through fission since reaching first criticality on October 11, 2023.

If verified, the accomplishment would mark a significant gain for China in a sector where it has expanded rapidly. The United States remains the largest producer of nuclear electricity, but China has accelerated its buildout. While the United States completed the delayed Plant Vogtle project, China constructed 13 reactors of similar size and has 33 more under development. Beijing is also deepening engagement with nuclear programs in emerging economies, including in Africa.

Experts note the pace of China’s drive. Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told the New York Times that China aims to demonstrate that its nuclear program is advancing without interruption.

China’s growth faces one constraint: limited domestic uranium resources. Russia controls about 44 percent of global enrichment capacity, and China has increased uranium purchases from Russian suppliers. Analysts warn that reliance on a single dominant source can heighten political and market risks.

Thorium offers an alternative. The element is widely available in China, and the South China Morning Post reported that a single Inner Mongolia deposit could supply the country’s nuclear fuel needs for more than a millennium.