Steenkampskraal Thorium Limited (STL), a South African registered company and its associate company Thor Energy in Norway have completed three years of a five year test qualification period for the world’s first commercial thorium uranium pellet fuel for light water reactors (LWRs). This will revolutionise the nuclear industry by enhancing safety and replacing uranium with a safe fuel.

The tests are being conducted in Norway in the Halden reactor. Approval of the pellet fuel will enable the pellets to be used in light water reactors around the world as a safe alternative to uranium-only fuels, without modifications needed to existing nuclear reactors.

“This month a new batch of thorium pellets will be inserted into the Halden research reactor, a test light water reactor (LWR), by Thor Energy, a company in which STL has an investment,” said Trevor Blench, chairman of STL.

“The Korea Atomic Research Institute (KAERI) is one of the organisations working closely with Thor Energy as part of the programme. South Korea has 24 uranium-based nuclear reactors, each the size of Koeberg, and is investigating the possibility of replacing uranium pellets with a combination of uranium and thorium pellets as the standard fuel,” he said.

“A number of regulators worldwide are closely monitoring the progress and to date the tests are going well with no problems experienced.”

The countries with the most number of uranium-based nuclear reactors are the US, France, Japan, China and South Korea. These are all potential clients for thorium-based pellet fuel.

“The pellet-based thorium/uranium fuel, when qualified in the next two to three years, could be used worldwide to replace uranium in most light water reactors (LWR). The safety and nuclear proliferation implications are significant. By using a thorium combination, there is very little plutonium production making it extremely difficult to manufacture a nuclear weapon. This addresses the risk of nuclear proliferation. Plutonium can also be mixed with the thorium creating a means of plutonium disposal and incineration of the reserves throughout the world,” said Mr Blench.

In South Africa, STL is also preparing an application to the South African National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) for pre-generic design assessment for licencing of a locally-designed helium-based gas-cooled, modular pebble-based thorium/uranium reactor. The process substantiates the design concept regulatory approval.

Mr Blench said there are two types of gas reactors, carbon dioxide and helium. Carbon dioxide is the older technology now surpassed by helium, an inert gas which cannot burn and is therefore safe. Carbon dioxide can present health and safety risks including fire and harmful emissions. Helium exhibits none of these risks.

STL’s helium-based gas-cooled reactor will not need to be located at the sea or river and can be situated at the exact point where the energy is needed, with only small requirements for water.