The Future of
Sustainable
Nuclear Energy
The Lithium Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) is a thermal-spectrum molten-salt reactor with a scalable and sustainable fuel cycle. We seek to overcome the obstacles hindering deployment of carbon-free nuclear energy by dramatically departing from current reactor technology; we will provide a new generation of reactors for a new generation of sustainability.
From small modular reactors for transport and space to multi-unit gigawatt-scale power plants on earth, LFTR is designed to be a scalable approach to nuclear energy.
The Benefits of LFTR
Each part of the reactor system has been carefully chosen for the optimal balance of performance and safety.
Thorium Fuel
The thorium fuel cycle allows us to fuel our reactors without uranium enrichment and eliminates the long-lived waste products from other designs. Thorium is plentiful throughout the earth's crust — four times as common as uranium, 5,000 times as plentiful as gold and generally as abundant as lead.
Liquid Fuel Form
The thorium fuel inside LFTR is in liquid form. This prevents meltdowns, increases efficiency, and allows the reactor to run at atmospheric pressure. The core self-controls its reactivity due to natural density changes of the molten salt.
Processing System
The integrated processing system allows for revolutionary advances in nuclear technology. LFTR allows for the removal of fission products to enable continuous total fuel burnup, while simultaneously harvesting valuable isotopes. The result: more clean energy, less long-lived waste, and better economics.
Power Conversion System
LFTR's high outlet temperature of 650°C can be coupled with super-efficient advanced power conversion systems such as supercritical CO2 turbines. These highly compact systems have turbomachinery that could fit on a dinner table, reducing the footprint of LFTR power plants.
Safe Operations
In addition to self-control through natural changes to the salt's density, we designed LFTR to use gravity to drain from the moderated core into a drain tank. This allows an operator to rapidly and safely shut the reactor down and cool the decay heat generation outside the insulated core - completely safe until the operator wants to turn the reactor on again.
Waste Management
LFTRs will produce far less waste than current reactors along the entire fuel cycle and process chain, from ore extraction to nuclear waste storage. Lithium reactor technology can also be used to consume the remaining fissile material available in spent nuclear fuel stockpiles around the world and to extract and resell many of the valuable fission products that are currently considered waste.
zero
CO2 Emissions
24/7
Operations
100%
Sustainability
Proven Technology & Innovation
We based LFTR on proven technology demonstrated during the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) by the US Government at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The MSRE prototype ran for over 20,000 hours and successfully demonstrated the viability of the base design and concept.
LFTR is a modernized and improved version of the MSRE. By taking full advantage of the thorium fuel cycle, we are opening up new frontiers in medicine, energy, and more."
LFTR Specifications
The modular design of LFTR allows for easy configuration for many different applications, both large and small.
The table shows a configuration optimized for large-scale energy production.
Reactor
LFTR
Power
250 MWe
Power Conversion System
sCO2 Brayton
Cooling Options
Dry or Wet
Efficiency
42%
Reactor Outlet Temp
650°C
Reactor Inlet Temp
500°C
Reactor Pressure
Near Atmospheric
Reactor Structure
Hastelloy N
Uranium Enrichment
None
Fuel Salt
FLiBeU
Blanket Salt
FLiTh
Coolant Salt
FLiBe
Energy Anywhere
Lithium reactors coupled to sCO2 power conversion systems open the door to dry cooling. In regions with little fresh water, this is essential. Furthermore, a low-cost energy source like LFTR can enable desalination of saltwater sources.