Skip to content
 

Thorium committee submits report:

Neither dismisses nor embraces thorium fuel

The report of the Norwegian Thorium Committee, submitted on 15 February, does not give grounds for either rejecting or embracing thorium as an energy source in nuclear power plants. The committee recommends that Norway should seek to keep pace with the development work being carried out in this area in the rest of Europe.

thorium-rapport - overrekkelse From the presentation of the Norwegian thorium report. Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Åslaug Haga (left) and Committee Chair, Professor Mikko Kara (right).

Norway has the world's third to sixth largest deposits of thorium. The growing need for energy has led to greater interest in learning how these deposits can be utilised. A committee appointed by the Research Council in 2007 and chaired by Professor Mikko Kara, Executive Vice President for the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, recently submitted its report to Norway's Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Åslaug Haga. The committee's mandate was to establish a solid knowledge base concerning the opportunities and risks related to the use of thorium for long-term energy production. 

In connection with the report's submission, the Minister for Petroleum and Energy declared that the Government's policy is fixed and that no plans exist to permit construction of nuclear power plants in Norway. "The Government will prioritise the development of renewable energy sources such as bioenergy, wind and wave power," said Ms Haga.

RCN to discuss recommendations
The Thorium report has been circulated to relevant institutions and agencies for review, with a reply deadline of 31 May. "The Research Council will discuss the committee's recommendations," said Arvid Hallén, Director General of the Research Council. "Now that the problems caused by CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-based energy sources have become so clearly recognised, there is renewed interest in nuclear power in general. We must assess the types of expertise we will need to have in this country, even though the Government currently has no plans to permit the development of nuclear power in Norway," he continues.

Recommends increased competence
The report emphasises the need to increase competence in Norway within several areas, including radioactive waste management, dose assessment related to the thorium cycle, and nuclear technology and nuclear physics. "These efforts must take place through close international research collaboration, either with our neighbouring countries or through European research programmes, as recommended by the committee," says Hallén.

Final Recommendations of the Thorium Report Committee:

  1. No technology should be idolized or demonized. All carbon-dioxide (CO2) emission-free energy production technologies should be considered. The potential contribution of nuclear energy to a sustainable energy future should be recognized.
  2. An investigation into the resources in the Fen Complex and other sites in Norway should be performed. It is essential to assess whether thorium in Norwegian rocks can be defined as an economical asset for the benefit of future generations. Furthermore, the application of new technologies for the extraction of thorium from the available mineral sources should be studied
  3. Testing of thorium fuel in the Halden Reactor should be encouraged, taking benefit of the well recognized nuclear fuel competence in Halden.
  4. Norway should strengthen its participation in international collaborations by joining the Euratom fission program and the GIF program on Generation IV reactors suitable for the use of thorium.
  5. The development of an Accelerator Driven System (ADS) using thorium is not within the capability of Norway working alone. Joining the European effort in this field should be considered. Norwegian research groups should be encouraged to participate in relevant international projects, although these are currently focused on waste management.
  6. Norway should bring its competence in waste management up to an international standard and collaboration with Sweden and Finland could be beneficial.
  7. Norway should bring its competence with respect to dose assessment related to the thorium cycle up to an international standard.
  8. Since the proliferation resistance of uranium-233 depends on the reactor and reprocessing technologies, this aspect will be of key concern should any thorium reactor be built in Norway.
  9. Any new nuclear activities in Norway, e.g. thorium fuel cycles, would need strong international pooling of human resources, and in the case of thorium, a strong long-term commitment in university education and basic science. All these should be included in the country level strategy aiming to develop new sustainable energy sources. However, to meet the challenge related to the new nuclear era in Europe, Norway should secure its competence within nuclear sciences and nuclear engineering fields. This includes additional permanent staff at the universities and research institutes and appropriate funding for new research and development as well as a high quality research-based Master and PhD education.

Concluding Remarks:
The Thorium Report Committee finds that the current knowledge of thorium based energy generation and the geology is not solid enough to provide a final assessment regarding the potential value for Norway of a thorium based system for long term energy production. The Committee recommends that the thorium option be kept open in so far it represents an interesting complement to the uranium option to strengthen the sustainability of nuclear energy.

More information

Committee to study the use of Norway's thorium deposits

Mandate for the thorium committee

The thorium report

Thorium as an energy source (PDF-6 825 KB)

Written by:
Ingvil Bjørnæs. Translation: Lindsay Wærø/Carol B. Eckmann
Published:
 21.02.2008
Last updated:
21.02.2008