The US has granted only its second nuclear export license in nearly 20 years, allowing Chicago-based Clean Core Thorium Energy to sell its thorium-based fuel to India. This milestone boosts US-India civil nuclear cooperation and introduces thorium—an alternative to uranium that produces less waste and poses lower proliferation risks—into India’s reactors. Clean Core’s fuel blends thorium with HALEU uranium, making it compatible with India’s existing pressurized heavy-water reactors. As India moves to relax liability laws and open its nuclear market, this partnership signals a shift toward cleaner, more sustainable nuclear energy—and a possible new global standard. They write:
For just the second time in nearly two decades, the United States has granted an export license to an American company planning to sell nuclear technology to India, MIT Technology Review has learned. The decision to greenlight Clean Core Thorium Energy’s license is a major step toward closer cooperation between the two countries on atomic energy and marks a milestone in the development of thorium as an alternative to uranium for fueling nuclear reactors. […]
“This license marks a turning point, not just for Clean Core but for the US-India civil nuclear partnership,” says Mehul Shah, the company’s chief executive and founder. “It places thorium at the center of the global energy transformation.” […]
By running its own reactors on thorium, Kakodkar says, India can chart a new path for newcomer nations that want to harness the power of the atom without stoking fears that nuclear weapons capability will spread.
“The proliferation concerns will be dismissed to a significant extent, allowing more rapid growth of nuclear power in emerging countries,” he says. “That will be a good thing for the world at large.”
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