Thorium MSR as a Small-Scale Energy Source: Opportunities for Japan

Even after the huge impact of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, Japan has to establish its energy supply system satisfying requirements of both global warming and resistibility of natural disaster. Nuclear power has a potential to reduce carbon emission but large-scale and centralized nuclear power plant may lose large volume of electricity supply at once. Small-scale nuclear power plants will bring solution in Japan. Thorium molten-salt reactor (MSR) is selected to simulate implementation capacity of small reactors in Japan. In order to use thorium as nuclear fuel, fissionable isotope is indispensable since natural thorium does not include fissile material. Japan owns plutonium in spent nuclear fuel of uranium usage. Quantitative evaluation of implementing capacity of thorium MSR in Japan by using plutonium accumulated in Japan. Implementation capacity of thorium MSR will be about 38 GWe and 11.2 GWe in the maximum and minimum cases at 2050, respectively.