US firm hits thorium milestone: What it means for India
A US company, Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE), just hit a milestone with its new thorium-based nuclear fuel—announced on August 17, 2025, that it had reached 45 GigaWatt-days per metric ton at Idaho National Lab.
This has sparked fresh interest in India, which has plenty of thorium but mostly relies on imported uranium for its nuclear power.
What does this mean for India?
CCTE's breakthrough could help India use its own thorium to make Uranium-233, a key ingredient for cleaner and more secure nuclear energy.
Physicist Anil Kakodkar points out that using thorium with advanced uranium fuels could boost India's energy security and lower costs.
He adds that the fuel is cheaper than uranium, and its utilization will ensure that India is not dependent on uranium imports.
If India adopts this tech—even though it doesn't have molten salt reactors yet—it could hit its big 2047 nuclear goals and maybe even export next-gen reactor tech to the world.