The document discusses thorium as a potential future nuclear fuel. It outlines the advantages of thorium fuel cycles including abundant resources and proliferation resistance. It also discusses some challenges in developing thorium fuel cycles such as the need for initial fissile material and lack of existing fuel cycle infrastructure. The document reviews past experience with thorium fuel in test and commercial reactors from the 1960s-1980s. It discusses renewed interest in thorium due to concerns over uranium resources, nuclear waste, and climate change. The IAEA and some countries are conducting further research on thorium fuel cycles.

1. Thorium - Securing the resources Hari Tulsidas Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section

2. Thorium – the future of energy Advantages, challenges Past experience, the downturn Present hunger for energy, climatic concerns Booming nuclear waste issues How long with uranium resources last? Renewed interest in thorium IAEA activities in Th fuel cycle ThDEPO Planned activities

3. Bunch of advantages Large resources of thorium Self sustained equilibrium thorium fuel cycle Intrinsic proliferation resistance Better thermo-physical properties and chemical stability High burn – up capability Lesser long lived minor actinides Superior plutonium incineration Attractive in accelerated driven systems and energy amplifiers

4. Resistance to proliferation Difficulties in reprocessing of chemically stable thoria. Easy detection of gamma activity Quality of plutonium produced unattractive for weapons Improved burn-up increases the fuel cycle length, safeguarding the fissile material in the reactor itself

5. Some challenges too … Needs fissile material to start with Fuel cycle infrastructure to be developed - mining, milling, fuel fabrication, transport and reprocessing Re-cycling of U 233 requires automated and remote fuel fabrication and handling in adequately shielded facility Reprocessing of Th fuels is not yet established Large investment for Th fuel development, qualification and characterization

6. Th utilization – Past experience (1) Studied for about 40 years in Germany, USA, UK, Netherlands and India . Commercial scale Th fuelled reactors in Germany, USA in 1970s & 80s. Test reactor irradiation of thorium fuel to high burnups Several test reactors - partially or completely loaded with thorium-based fuel.

7. Th utilization – Past experience (2) 1967 – 1988: AVR, Germany (18 MWe) 1964 – 1973: Dragon, UK (20 MWt) 1962 – 1980: Indian Point, USA (285 MWe) 1964 – 1969: MSRE ORNL, USA (7.5 MWt) 1963 – 1968: Borax IV & Elk River (2,4 – 24 MWe) 1967 – 1974: Peach Bottom, USA (40 MWe) 1976 – 1989: Fort St Vtain, USA (330 MWe) 1977 – 1982: Shippingport, USA (100 MWe) 1960s – present: 3 RR and NPD, Canada 1974 - 1977: SUSPOP/KSTR KEMA, Netherlands (1 MWt) 1983 – 1989: THTR, Germany (300MWe) 1980s : Cirus & Dhruva, India (30 kWt & 40 MWt) 1985 – present: FBTR, India (40 MWt) 1996 – present: Kamini, India (30kWt)

8. The downturn All major projects using Th in their fuel cycles had been terminated by the late 1980s. Could not compete economically Lack of political support Concern regarding proliferation risks Chernobyl Cheap Oil Proliferation

9. Hunger for energy Population growth Energy poverty Source: World Energy Outlook 2010

10. Concern for environment

11. Looming waste problem (1) World cumulative spent fuel discharge by 2030

12. Looming waste problem (2) Reuse# 4 workshop, AECL, Canada 15-16Nov. 2010

13. World distribution of uranium resources IAEA / OECD NEA Uranium 2009: Resources, Production and Demand Others 1 079 000 17% Total 6 306 000 100% iNFCIS - UDEPO Data of 1 323 uranium deposits from 75 countries http://www-nfcis.iaea.org Total 20 314 645 tU tU Red Book 2009 Undiscovered Resources: 7 495 500 tU Recoverable Resources Identified < $260 Total Resources Identified 4.3% 275 500 Niger 4.4% 278 700 Brazil 4.5% 284 200 Namibia 4.6% 295 600 South Africa 7.5% 472 100 United States 8.6% 544 000 Canada 9.0% 565 000 Russia 13.2% 832 000 Kazakhstan 26.6% 1 679 000 Australia

14. Uranium supply balance WNA Global Nuclear Fuel Market 2007-2030

15. Peak Uranium ? Projected U production in Australia 2020 2022

16. Rethinking thorium HTGR: GT-MHR by General Atomics THTR in China Radkowsky Thorium Reactor: LWBR in USA MSR/LFTR – Japan, Russia, France, USA – GIF CANDU - ACR - Canada and China VVERs -Thorium Power (Lightbridge) EPR – France / Lightbridge

17. Th action in India Long-term nuclear fuel cycle to utilise its abundant thorium resources in three stages: Stage 1 - Plutonium is produced in PHWRs fuelled by natural uranium and in LWRs Stage 2 - In FBRs plutonium is burned to breed U233 from thorium and plutonium from the uranium. Currently a research reactor uses 233 U obtained from a test FBR. Prototype FBR (500 MWe) to be commissioned in 2012 Four commercial FBRs (500 MWe each) by 2020. Stage 3 - Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs) burn the U233 and plutonium with thorium to derive about two thirds of the power from thorium. One 300 MWe AHWR to be operational by 2020.

18. International cooperation IAEA-International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles ( INPRO) 32 members IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Comparative assessments of thorium based fuel cycle concepts to be initiated in 2011 Generation IV International Forum – GIF: Th will be the reference fuel cycle for some of the Gen-IV SCWR concepts and MSR International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation - IFNEC

19. More details … Thorium Fuel Cycle – Potential Benefits and Challenges Current information base Front end / back end issues Proliferation resistance issues Economic aspects

20. Integrated Nuclear Fuel Cycle Information System Initially based on the Agency’s electronic databases created in 1980s Web based system with public access since 2001 ThDEPO project started in 2010 http://www-nfcis.iaea.org NFCIS UDEPO PIE NFCSS MADB ThDEPO New To be published soon!

21. Thorium resources Natural Th is a relatively abundant element with an av of 7.2 ppm in the earth’s crust, compared to 2.5 - 3 ppm of U. This does not mean at all that the exploitable reserves of thorium are 2-3 times larger than U Extensive exploration for thorium has not been conducted Red Book stopped reporting Th since 1981. A reliable estimation of the world-wide reserves of thorium is not currently available.

22. Current Th Exploration Th Exploration (USGS - 2007) continues in Canada, India and the USA. India – 846 tTh resources: Stockpile: ~30 000 t thorium concentrate. USA - Th exploration in Lemhi Pass area Monazite last produced in 1994 Expected to resume in soon (Florida) ? Reassessment of resources in Australia, Brazil, USA & India.

23. Thorium Resources Data based on Red Book 2009 & ThDEPO 2010

24. Major Th deposit types and resources ‘ Red Book’ 2009 6 078 000 Total 4 258 000 Other 18 1 120 000 Alkaline rocks 21 1 300 000 Vein-type 25 1 500 000 Placer 31 1 900 000 Carbonatite Percentage Resources (t Th) Deposit type

25. ThDEPO status

26. Th resources publications 2009 USA 2009 2001 India Australia

27. Th resources issues Present practice of diluting and dispersing Th minerals Sea level rise and land loss – impact on coastal resources? Social acceptability of mining in coastal areas ? Economics of hard rock Th mining ?

28. ThDEPO planned activities Collect all the available resources data from published sources / unpublished reports Critically evaluate and publish data in ThDEPO Preserve the fast disappearing knowledge base on Th reserves. Highlight gaps in knowledge. Identify issues in development of Th resources. Identify associated work that should be carried our – CRPs, Tech Documents, Meetings Promote International Cooperation in Th resources development.

29. Next … IAEA Technical Meeting on World Thorium Resources 17 – 21 October 2011 Thiruvanatapuram, India Thorium geology, mineralization Exploration case histories Resource evaluation Production, feasibility and economics Extraction technologies Safety, environmental and social licensing Field visits

30. You can reach me at … Thank you Harikrishnan Tulsidas Nuclear Technology Specialist Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section International Atomic Energy Agency Tel: (+431) 2600 22758 Fax: (+431) 26007 22758 Room A26 19 Email: [email_address]