FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :
Thorium for Finland's 6th reactor ?
Memo on thorium Molten Salt Reactor filed with the Finnish Government
On Dec31th 2008 a group of three Nordic companies submitted a memo to the Finnish Ministry of Employment and The Economy on the subject of Finland's 6th nuclear reactor.
PowerThe Home Oy, based in Helsinki, Thorium ElectroNuclear AB in Stockholm, and Achieveperformance AS in Oslo propose to build a Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) running on fluid thorium fuel.
"The memo aims to inform Finnish decison makers on the uniquely superior properties of MSR technology for future production and distribution of energy " says Dr Mika Karilahti, chairman of PowerTheHome Oy.
"MSR systems are not common knowledge in the industry community. R&D have not been promoted for the last 20 years" says Elling Disen, founder of Thorium ElectroNuclear AB.
Nuclear energy is currently experiencing a revival.
Nuclear reactors are evaluated on the performance on five key parameters : waste, safeguards, economy, fuel efficiency and sustainability. "Thorium MSR technology vastly outperforms anything else" Elling Disen says.
Stakeholders should particulary appreciate the fact that spent nuclear fuel in temporary storage would be incinerated in the MSR. In particular, waste reuse removes the unsolved issue of copper corrosion from planned geological storage. A closed fuel cycle, true energy independence in the long term, minimal environmental footprint and low cost are also very desirable properties.
Nordic collaboration
Elling Disen says that a Nordic collaboration adds to the favorable prospect of MSR solutions. "Norway has 2 million tons of Thorium, enough to power the Nordic region for thousand of years."
Building a 1500 MW MSR plant would probably take 5-8 years and cost 1.8 billion €.
The memo should not be confused for a full formal bid for Finland's 6th reactor.
Filing of this memo was discussed with Mr Riku Huttunen with the Finnish Ministry of Employment and The Economy.
2009-01-01
For further information, contact :
Mika Karilahti, chairman PowerTheHome Oy
PowerTheHome Oy provides local energy solutions.
+358 (0)40 5487656, mika.karilahti@powerthehome.com
Elling Disen, founder Thorium ElectroNuclear AB
Thorium ElectroNuclear AB has exclusive IP rights for thorium MSR technology.
+ 46 (0)70 8968715, elling@torium.se
Hans Henrik Holven, chairman Achieveperformance AS
Achieveperformance AS delivers digital pen and document systems.
+ 47 93448132, hhh@achieveperformance.no
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7 comments:
Norwegians has been very cool to nuclear power until 2006. Then the pluses of thorium got into the news. A poll showed a major shift in public opinion occurred in a six month period. Norway has had a small carbon footprint because of hydro power. They now have gas power plant which enlarged their carbon footprint. They have a group of accelerator scientists that would like to promote an accelerator reactor. Norway has a lot of thorium. They want a safer and greener energy source.
Norway had no reason at all to pursue nuclear until they ran out of good spots for hydro to expand; before then the antis were some of lonely few who cared about nuclear at all.
Good find Charles. That 2 million tonne thorium resource estimate is much larger than the official WNA estimate of 132,000 tonnes in Norway, and suggests Lemhi Pass thorium deposit is not unique in its size.
Have you found any more recent updates on Japan’s Fuji molten salt reactor research project? The way things are going it seems likely that commercial MSRs will be developed in Europe or Japan before they are introduced in the U.S.
The world Thorium reserve is huge. I recently found a story that suggested that the thorium reserve on Indian beaches was 8 million tons, enough to provide india with two and a half times as much electricity as the United States now consumes for 8000 years. There are most likely huge Thorium deposits in India that are as yet undiscovered because there is no exploration.
charlesB,
is there a link to the original press?
charlesH
No, I received this through email.
" is there a link to the original press? "
In the torium.se site there are all their press releases, the last one is what you ask for
http://www.torium.se/News.htm
http://www.torium.se/res/Documents/press_2009jan_suomi_v3.pdf
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