'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.