'Nuclear without meltdowns': China’s secret weapon is now online
Produced by: Manoj Kumar
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Thorium Breakthrough
In the Gobi Desert, China became the first to run a thorium molten salt reactor while reloading fuel—without ever powering down. A nuclear first, 60 years in the making.
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Resurrected Tech
Once scrapped by the U.S. in the 1960s, molten salt reactors are now China’s nuclear frontier—built on declassified American science and scaled by Chinese grit.
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Hot and Safe
Using molten fluoride salts, the reactor operates at over 700°C with no high-pressure systems—avoiding meltdown risks through gravity-fed, passive safety failsafes.
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Waste Revolution
Thorium reactors produce less plutonium and shorter-lived radioactive waste, tackling one of the biggest fears surrounding nuclear power: long-term storage.
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Weapon-Proof Fuel
Thorium can’t easily be turned into bombs. Its byproducts are hard to weaponize, making this tech a dream for clean, non-military nuclear energy.
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Desert Powerhouse
The tiny 2MW reactor is just the start. By 2030, a 60MW version will power homes and produce green hydrogen—right in the sands of Gansu Province.
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Hydrogen Future
Thanks to reactor temperatures, thermochemical hydrogen becomes viable—paving the way for a green hydrogen economy and thorium-fueled shipping fleets.
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Material Challenge
Molten salt eats metal. China’s reactor also acts as a testbed for materials like Hastelloy-N—built to survive radiation, heat, and decades of chemical corrosion.
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Energy Legacy
As U.S. interest faded, China took the torch. “We have been that successor,” said project chief Xu Hongjie—staking a claim as the new leader in nuclear innovation.