“Rabbits sometimes make mistakes or grow lazy. That’s when the tortoise seizes its chance.” That’s how a scientist from China recently described the Asian giant’s progress in using thorium — a silvery-white radioactive metal that’s more abundant in the earth’s crust than uranium — to generate power.
Xu Hongjie reportedly used the folklore saying in a closed-door meeting at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in April to suggest China had overtaken the United States in this specific field, according to the South China Morning Post. But could thorium really be used as a viable source for fuel in the near future or even replace uranium in nuclear reactors? Here’s what you need to know.
What is thorium?
Found in small amounts in most rocks and soil, thorium was first discovered in 1828 by Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, who named it after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Studies on the potential of thorium being used as a nuclear fuel have been ongoing for more than 50 years in various countries, but the impetus to use it has been slower compared to uranium and there aren’t any plants that produce energy using it on a commercial basis today.
For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/could-thorium-be-next-great-fuel-source