Xu, who pioneered China’s thorium reactor programme, died at the age of 70 while working on a lecture on his favourite subject at his desk. Few scientists in the world could match Xu’s contributions in developing and advocating the peaceful civilian use of an alternative nuclear power technology very different from the traditional, more dangerous uranium-based version.
The horrors of Chernobyl and Fukushima have either scared many people off from nuclear energy or driven others to search for safer nuclear technology. In an age of global warming, there is also an urgent need to decarbonise the way we generate energy. That’s why the thorium reactor, an idea that has been around for decades but is now being revived, especially in China, is making headlines.
Thanks to new advances in materials science and computer modelling, it is now commercially feasible. It also helps that China is the world’s leading civilian shipbuilder.
Unlike conventional uranium reactors, thorium reactors produce much less dangerous waste, offer unique safety features and cannot easily be weaponised.
It is therefore seen as a major development, especially in China, in achieving a sustainable green future.