ThorCon: innovative molten salt nuclear power plant

Underground Nuclear Reactor ThorCon Nuclear Island

ThorCon is a simple molten salt reactor (liquid salt reactor) in which fuel is stored in liquid form. The authors of the project believe that this is the safest and most reliable source of nuclear energy.

Nuclear installation is supposed to be placed at a depth of 30 meters underground. Four gas-tight barriers are located between the fuel storage and the surface, three of which are at a depth of more than 25 meters. Unlike almost all existing reactors, ThorCon operates at a pressure that is practically the same as atmospheric pressure. When the main circuit breaks, energy does not dissipate. Spilled fuel simply flows into the drain tank where it is cooled.
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The most problematic fission products, strontium-90 and cesium-137, are chemically bound to the salt, and together with it flow into drain tanks.

If for some reason overheating occurs, ThorCon automatically shuts off, drains fuel from the main circuit and passively absorbs heat from the decay. No need for operator intervention. Moreover, the operator can in no way interfere with the process of fuel discharge and cooling, which provides "protection against a fool."

The developers emphasize that ThorCon does not use any experimental and new technologies, everything has been studied for a long time. ThorCon is simply an enlarged copy of the proven and well-proven Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) reactor . Since the pilot project was successful, it would be logical to check the design in full size. The authors believe that within four years you can put into operation a prototype for 250 MWe and there is no reason why it did not work.

Verification of the prototype will be completed in the coming years, and with the permission of the regulatory authorities it will be possible to build a new type of nuclear power plant in the United States.

The modular reactor involves quick assembly.



Excavation, installation of equipment and launch of the reactor at 1 GWe will take no more than a year. To install the need of the territory of 10 hectares.



The cost of clean electricity at ThorCon is estimated at about 3-5 cents per kWh, depending on the power of the reactor.