China plans to build the world’s first nuclear power plant fueled by molten thorium salt in the Gobi Desert, with construction starting in 2025.
This plant aims to develop safer and more environmentally friendly nuclear energy by using liquid salt and carbon dioxide for heat transfer, eliminating the need for water cooling.
The reactor will use fuel enriched with less than 20% Uranium-235 and approximately 50 kg of thorium, utilizing FLiBe (a mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride) and uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) for its operations.