Distinct Benefits
What gives our reactor a proven edge
Walk-away safe
Our molten salt fuel passively drains into cooling tanks in an emergency, instantly halting nuclear fission. This eliminates overheating risks, requiring no operator intervention or external power to maintain safety.
Costs rivaling coal
Thorcon delivers baseload nuclear power at a price competitive with coal but without the emissions. Our shipyard – built reactors plants ensure cost-effective energy that meets the demands of rapidly growing economies without relying on fossil fuels.
Quick to construct
Thorcon plants are fully built in shipyards, allowing parallel production and deployment. Each plant can be manufactured, transported, and installed within two years, compared to the decades-long construction timelines of traditional nuclear plants.
Low cost
By leveraging shipyard construction and modular assembly, Thorcon eliminates expensive, on-site reactor builds, significantly lowering costs. Our efficient molten salt reactor design ensures higher thermal output and reduced operational expenses, making nuclear energy a cost-effective alternative to traditional sources.
More efficient
Thorcon operates at higher temperatures than conventional nuclear reactors, achieving over 40% greater thermal efficiency. This results in lower fuel consumption, higher energy output, and greater overall cost savings for industrial and grid-scale applications.
Shipyard Built
Unlike traditional nuclear plants, Thorcon plants are constructed in modern shipyards, benefiting from mass production efficiencies. This approach reduces costs, ensures high-quality fabrication, and allows for global transportability and scalability.
Supports multiple fuel types
Thorcon’s molten salt reactor can operate using low-enriched uranium today, with a straight-forward path to incorporate thorium fuel in the future. This adaptability reduces dependence on uranium fuel.
How our plants work
Uranium dissolved in molten salt eliminates the need for precision fabrication of fuel pellets and assemblies, significantly reducing production costs.
Thorcon uses standard, 5% enriched uranium-235, avoiding the need for more expensive and scarce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU).
Thorcon’s low-pressure molten salt design eliminates the need for costly reinforced concrete containment domes, exotic pressure vessels, 3-inch thick piping, etc, dramatically reducing material and manufacturing costs.
Passive safety design reduces operational risk. In an emergency, the plant shuts itself down and places itself in a safe configuration without any operator involvement.
Producing heat at 704 degrees C, Thorcon reactors enable a 46% heat-to-electricity conversion, or more than 40% greater than traditional nuclear.
Using beryllium and sodium fluoride salts provides high-temperature tolerance and low-cost heat transfer, avoiding the need for expensive enriched lithium salts.
High-purity salts and chemical controls ensure durability with competitively sourced 316 stainless steel, minimizing reliance on costly exotic metals.
Two 557 MW thermal reactors power a single 500 MW plant, using standardized components for repetitive production and cost efficiency.
Entire power plants are shipped to coastal sites or other major waterways, eliminating the need for extensive on-site construction and allowing cost-effective cooling.
Built with double-hull oil tanker designs, Thorcon reactors leverage efficient shipyard techniques, reducing deployment times to two years and enabling flexible deployment.
