Overview
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics says its 2 megawatt reactor in the Gobi Desert converted thorium into fissile uranium and yielded usable experimental data.
- The institute describes the unit as the only operating molten‑salt reactor worldwide that has been loaded with and used thorium fuel.
- Officials say the experimental reactor reached first criticality on October 11, 2023 and has since produced heat through nuclear fission.
- SINAP notes the TMSR program began in 2011 and claims China has developed core equipment and an independent domestic supply chain.
- The institute says it will work with energy companies toward a 100 megawatt demonstration project by 2035, with no independent verification of the current claims cited in the coverage.