TU podcast: Interview with Thor Kraft

Thor Kraft AS is a recently established company with an ambitious goal: to develop nuclear power based on thorium and molten salt technology.

In this episode of the Teknisk Sett podcast, Tech Editor Jan Moberg from Teknisk Ukeblad speaks with Øystein Sveinsvoll Skoge, CEO of Thor Kraft AS, about a new Norwegian initiative to develop nuclear power based on thorium and molten salt reactor technology.

Listen to the TU Podcast interview with Thor Kraft AS here (in Norwegian)

The article below is a translation of Moberg’s original article.

The Fens field in Telemark, Norway, contains some of the world’s largest deposits of thorium — an element that in many ways outperforms uranium as a preferred fuel for nuclear power.

Founded two years ago, Thor Kraft AS was created specifically to promote the establishment of nuclear power plants using thorium and molten salt technology.

‍The advantages of thorium

This week’s guest on the Teknisk Sett podcast lists a long line of advantages to using thorium instead of uranium.

— The benefits are many. For example, you only need to extract one ton of thorium instead of 200 tons of uranium. The reactors can be built smaller and simpler. And the waste is much smaller and requires a far shorter storage time than uranium, explains Øystein Sveinsvoll Skoge, CEO of Thor Kraft.

France first

Although Norway — and especially the Fens field in Telemark — holds world-leading thorium reserves, Skoge & Co are first looking to French partners for collaboration.

— We have received a warm welcome from national-level authorities in France. They found our technical concept, which combines thorium and molten salt technology, very exciting, says Skoge.

The goal for Skoge & Co is to have a power plant built within a ten-year period, under the French regulatory regime.

— It will progress faster there. Moreover, what’s built in France will more easily be approved in other countries, Skoge explains.

In this week’s episode of Teknisk Sett, you can hear the full story about thorium, molten salt technology, and Thor Kraft’s vision for the future of nuclear power.

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