China is one step closer to perpetual energy independence

A new milestone was crossed in thorium-based molten salt nuclear reactor

Nikolai Kardashev, the famed Soviet astrophysicist, defined Type 1 civilization as a society that has achieved full control and mastery over all the energy resources of its home planet.

Such a civilization can harness solar, wind, geothermal, and tidal energy, and would be on the cusp of becoming multi-planetary.

According to physicist Carl Sagan’s interpolation of the Kardashev scale, humanity is currently estimated to be a Type 0.73 civilization, consuming only a fraction of the total energy available on Earth.

China just achieved a major milestone in tapping our planet’s energy potential and could bring humanity one step closer to becoming a Type 1 civilization.

I wrote about China’s progress in harnessing thorium-based nuclear energy a few months ago when scientists successfully added fresh fuel to an operational thorium molten salt reactor back in April (https://huabinoliver.substack.com/p/what-is-really-going-to-change-the).

Things have moved fast. Just last month, another milestone was crossed. The experimental reactor built in the Gobi Desert by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Institute of Nuclear Applied Physics (SINAP) has achieved thorium-to-uranium fuel conversion, bringing us one step closer for an almost endless supply of nuclear energy.

This achievement makes the 2-megawatt liquid-fuel thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR) the only operating demonstration in the world of this 4^th generation nuclear technology to have successfully loaded and used thorium fuel.

It is the first time that scientists have been able to acquire experimental data on thorium operations from inside a molten salt reactor, an innovation that is poised to reshape the future of clean sustainable nuclear energy.

As I wrote in the earlier essay, thorium is much more abundant and accessible than uranium in earth’s crust and generates far less radioactive waste.

Thorium is considered the holy grail of nuclear fission energy, right next to nuclear fusion – the ultimate crown of nuclear energy.

One single mine in Inner Mongolia, the Bayan Obo Mine, is estimated to hold enough thorium to power China for the next 20,000 years.

At the heart of the breakthrough is a process known as in-core thorium-to-uranium conversion that transforms naturally occurring thorium-232 into uranium-233 – a fissile isotope capable of sustaining nuclear chain reactions.

This transformation occurs through a precise sequence of nuclear reactions. The thorium-232 absorbs a neutron to become thorium-233, which decays into protactinium-233 and then further decays into the final product – a powerful nuclear fuel.

Critically, the entire process takes place inside the reactor core, eliminating the need for external fuel fabrication.

Thorium is dissolved in a fluoride salt into a high-temperature molten mixture which serves as both fuel and coolant. Neutrons from a small initial charge of fissile material, such as enriched uranium-235 or plutonium-239, initiate the chain reaction.

Throughout the operation, thorium-232 continuously captures neutrons and transforms into uranium-233, which then releases energy through nuclear fission to create a self-sustaining “burn while breeding” cycle – one of the technology’s defining advantages.

Unlike conventional pressurized water reactors, which must be shut down periodically to open the pressure vessel and replace solid fuel rods, the TMSR’s liquid fuel – a homogeneous mixture of fissile material dissolved in molten salt – circulates continuously, allowing for on-the-fly refueling without interrupting operations.

Another advantage of the TMSR is that it requires no water at all, in sharp contrast to conventional nuclear power plants that are usually built near coastlines because of their massive cooling needs.

The constraint has limited deployment of nuclear reactors in arid or inland regions but is no impediment to a TMSR system which uses high-temperature molten fluoride salts instead of water as both the fuel carrier and coolant.

Because the salts efficiently transfer heat at atmospheric pressure and extreme temperatures, the technology is opening the door to safe, efficient nuclear power plants deep inland – and even on mobile platforms such as large ships, an application Chinese ship builders are already exploring.

If successful, China will be building the world’s next generation emission-free ocean transport. Of course, the potential for naval applications is extensive as well.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences launched the TMSR nuclear energy system in 2011 as a strategic priority research program aimed at addressing national goals in sustainable energy and carbon reduction.

After nearly 15 years of research and development, a team led by Xu Hongjie, former director of the Shanghai institute, overcame numerous challenges through sheer hard work.

Their work culminated on October 11, 2023, when the 2MW liquid-fuelled TMSR achieved first criticality. On June 17, 2024, another milestone was reached when the TMSR achieved full power operation.

Back in April 2025, the team conducted the world’s first experiment that involved adding thorium to an operating molten salt reactor.

The achievement by Xu and his colleagues means that China is home to the only operational thorium-fueled molten salt reactor in the world.

As a 4^th generation advanced reactor, the thorium molten salt reactor boasts inherent safety features as the system operates at atmospheric pressure, eliminating the risk of high-pressure explosions.

It is built underground with full radiation shielding and the chemically stable molten salts can also effectively trap radioactive materials.

In the unlikely event of a leak, the molten salt would flow into a passive safety drain tank, solidifying as it cooled and effectively containing any release.

A complete industrial ecosystem for TMSR technology is taking shape in China, with nearly 100 research institutions and commercial enterprises collaborating on reactor design, materials science and other key challenges.

Crucially, all core components of the experimental reactor are 100% domestically produced, ensuring full supply chain autonomy and technological self-reliance.

China is building a 100MW reactor in the Gobi Desert with the goal of proving the technology’s viability for large-scale commercial deployment by around 2035, according to the latest official timeline.

As the country celebrates this remarkable achievement, the Chinese people are saying a sad farewell to Mr. Xu Hongjie, the nuclear physicist and father of China’s thorium reactor program.

Mr. Xu, the former director of SINAP, passed away at age 70 in Shanghai on September 14, just before the latest milestone.

Xu died after midnight while working from home, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The news reports described he was found in front of his computer. “Books were spread open on the desk and the computer mouse had fallen to the floor. On the screen, the lecture slides for ‘Introduction to Nuclear Science and Technology’ remained unfinished,” said the memorial.

Xu, born in 1955, graduated from Fudan University with a doctoral degree in nuclear physics and nuclear technology in 1989.

That same year, he joined SINAP as a postdoctoral fellow and was promoted to associate researcher in 1991 and deputy director in 1995. From 2001 to 2009, he served as the institute’s director.

In 1995, CAS and the Shanghai municipal government decided to construct the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility and tasked Mr. Xu to lead the project.

Under Xu’s leadership, the project team built a world-leading third-generation synchrotron radiation light source, which is an advanced facility designed to produce high-brightness light beams.

In 2009, following the completion of the facility, Xu was put in charge with leading a thorium reactor project to make the technology a reality, leading to the launch of the TMSR program in 2011.

Scientists like Xu Hongjie and Xu Guangxian, the “father of China’s rare earth chemistry” who passed away in 2015, are the primal force driving the country’s progress and development.

They are the national treasures that have made China great again. Solute to the heroes.