Thorium Molten Salt Reactor Technology

THE REACTOR

Copenhagen Atomics is developing thorium molten salt reactor technology, with a focus on low electricity prices and fast installation

The first test reactors (2028) and first commercial reactors (2030s) will run on 5% enriched uranium as fuel salt and thorium as blanket salt.

With high enriched Li7 for optimal neutron economy, CAs reactors will have better neutron economy than any other reactor ever designed or build.

The first reactors will not be breeder reactors, meaning that they will generate more fissile fuel than they consume. But they will have breeding ratio approaching 1 (iso breeder).

Future potential

Why thorium?

Thorium is a much better fuel than uranium with 2.22 USD/GWh raw fuel cost in a CA thorium reactor. For most other solid fuel reactors the raw fuel cost is 2,000 - 8,000 USD/GWh of thermal energy.

The Onion Core®

Thorium also enables the existence of the Onion Core®

Copenhagen Atomics has invented the Onion Core® technology, enabling a compact reactor that can be mass-manufactured efficiently while requiring only a small amount of materials. This breakthrough is a game changer for nuclear energy.

The technology also reduces the construction cost of the reactor and its auxiliary systems compared to traditional nuclear reactors.

Copenhagen Atomics has already built two prototype reactors based on the Onion Core® technology and is now developing its third reactor.

Removing the technology risk from the power plant owners. Nuclear power plant owners will buy the land, get the licenses, build the buildings, steam turbines and connection to the grid. They will hire the plant personal and sell the electricity. Copenhagen Atomics makes sure they have the best energy technology anywhere in the world.

Thomas Jam Pedersen
Co-founder

Assembly line production

Containerized molten salt reactors allows for mass manufacturing and assembly line production. No onsite reactor assembly is necessary, only installation. This enables us to bring low cost manufacturing to the nuclear industry.

Burning spent nuclear fuel

By kickstarting our reactors on long-lived "waste" left in spent fuel we're able to convert it to fission products, which only needs to be stored for 300 years while rapidly scaling global energy production without the need for uranium enrichment.

Thorium and molten salt

There’s already enough mining of thorium today, that we can get all the thorium we need to power all of current civilization for the next thousand years. However, its true potential as an energy source can only be realized when used as a molten salt.

Specifications

Reactor output

100 MWth
Temperature served to customers

550 °C
Kickstarter fuel

F7LiThLEU & F7LiThPu
Moderator

unpressurized heavy water
Neutron spectrum

Thermal
Fuel cycle

Burn-then-breed

From the ground
A fuel for the future

Thorium the solution

Thorium is the only element that allows for a breeder reactor in thermal spectrum. This means that the power output per kg of fissile inventory can beat any other reactor.

Thorium is a metallic element from the periodic table, number 90, with a melting point of 1750 °C and a density of 11.7 kg/L.

When mining for other materials the world already mines enough thorium to power all global energy production.

Thorium is reacted with fluorine to created thorium tetrefluoride ThF4 which is then mixed with isotopically enriched lithium 7 fluoride ⁷LiF to form the basis salt F⁷LiTh used in our reactor.

Natural occurring thorium was created in extreme and rare events, such as supernova explosions or the collision of neutrons stars and then scattered across the universe. without the energy released from the decay of thorium and uranium in the earth’s core our planet could not sustain life as it does today. thus, both the earth and molten salt reactors are powered by stardust.

Engineering focused approach to reactor development

Development is driven by extensive and iterative testing of components, which has already birthed several innovations

Selected key innovations

Circulates molten salt continuously in a loop in which various materials/components can be inserted
Flexible design allows for frequent modification to tests
Test loops have already aided in the development, testing and verification of several reactor components
Test data from customers is shared with Copenhagen Atomics lowering the Company’s own testing needs
Test loops are crucial in the development of molten salt reactors and allow for verification of reactor parts

The most advanced loop for lab tests currently available

Copenhagen Atomics’ 5th generation portable molten salt loop with two leak-tight barriers, 18 m3/h capacity pump, 700 °C furnace, and online web data monitoring.

High-temperature molten salt pump without dynamic seals

Unique clamps and flanges with decreased failure and leakage probability

Salt cleaning – scrubbing fission products during operation

Thorium Molten Salt Reactor FAQ

Do Copenhagen Atomics reactors extract protactinium?

Copenhagen Atomics reactors do not extract protactinium.

Do Copenhagen Atomics reactors extract fission products while running?

Copenhagen Atomics reactors extract fission products while the reactor is running.

Do Copenhagen Atomics breeder reactors generate spent nuclear fuel?

Copenhagen Atomics breeder reactors will not generate spent nuclear fuel, like all the other uranium reactors out there. Instead, we generate fission products as waste stream, which only need to be stored above ground for 300 years. This is regardless of which Kickstarter fuel we use (LEU or TRU).

Who supplies the fuel salt for Copenhagen Atomics reactors?

Copenhagen Atomics will supply the fuel salt. We do not rely on 3rd party fuel suppliers. But we buy LEU, TRU and thorium from an existing supply chain. Copenhagen Atomics already has agreements for the thorium supply chain but will need to increase the capacity of all the supply chains to reach our goals.

Open source

Copenhagen Atomics’ fuel salt technology ensures an independent fuel supply. We do not rely on third-party fuel suppliers but source LEU, TRU and thorium through existing supply chains. We already have agreements in place for the thorium supply chain and will continue expanding the capacity of all supply chains to support our long-term goals.