From: allin
China has made significant strides in energy independence and advanced nuclear technology, marked by the discovery of a massive thorium reserve and the operational success of a molten salt reactor [01:18:42].
Massive Thorium Reserve Discovered
A giant thorium deposit was discovered in Inner Mongolia at the Bayan Obo mining complex [01:19:33]. This reserve is estimated at a million tons, enough to effectively power the entirety of China for 60,000 years [01:19:38]. This discovery was kept confidential for nearly two years before being reported and confirmed in a government meeting [01:21:36].
What is Thorium?
Thorium is a material that does not split and release energy unless it absorbs a neutron, after which it transmutes to uranium-233 [01:19:11]. Key characteristics and advantages of thorium include:
- Abundance: It is much more abundant in the Earth’s crust than uranium, which is historically used for fission reactors [01:19:50].
- Safety: When used in a molten salt thorium reactor, it reduces the risk of a meltdown, can passively shut itself down, and operates at low pressure, so it cannot explode [01:20:16].
- Efficiency: Unlike uranium, which requires an expensive and difficult refining process to yield less than 1% usable fuel, 100% of thorium can be used as fuel [01:24:04]. This makes it a very low-cost and easy fuel source to put into production [01:24:28].
The United States also possesses significant thorium reserves, with about 64,000 tons in the continental North American region, enough to power the country for centuries [01:20:46].
China’s Advancements in Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs)
China has secretly built and operated a molten salt reactor, showing continuous use without needing a shutdown and refueling cycle [01:21:05]. This experimental unit is 2 megawatts, with plans to take a 10 megawatt unit live by 2030 [01:21:24].
Molten salt reactors are a safer and more reliable way of producing power with a more abundant fuel source [01:20:25]. This technology, which allows for very small, modular nuclear reactors that can be quickly built, stood up, and safely operated in a distributed way, was pioneered by the US decades ago at Oak Ridge National Lab before being shelved due to regulatory barriers [01:21:55], [01:23:13], [01:23:19].
Strategic Implications
This development provides China with a significant economic advantage [01:22:53]. The ability to deploy many small, distributed reactors instead of large, centralized gigawatt stations could lead to much cheaper and higher volumes of electricity for China [01:22:04], [01:27:09]. This is not even built into China’s current energy projections, suggesting a potential for even greater energy production capacity than currently forecasted [01:22:22].
The buildout of electricity and its cost are key to the strategic competition between the US and China this century [01:27:26]. If China can make new energy systems cheaper and scale them faster than the United States, it will gain an advantage in manufacturing, production, and transportation [01:27:05].
Broader Energy Race
Beyond thorium, China is also advancing in nuclear fusion technology. A satellite photo revealed a very large-scale fusion research center in Myang, China, which is 50% larger than the national ignition facility in the United States [01:26:23]. Fusion technology, which could theoretically use water from the ocean to create unlimited free energy, represents the next generation of energy systems [01:26:09].
The regulatory constraints in the United States are seen as a major impediment, with other countries, like China, capitalizing on foundational research funded and then shelved in the US [01:23:48]. This highlights a critical need for the United States to address regulatory barriers to maintain its strategic position in energy technology [01:27:34].