August 17, 2022
Press release: Thorizon raises €12,5 million to turn Nuclear waste into CO2-free energy
Dutch company Thorizon has raised 12.5 million euro for the development of a new generation of nuclear power plants. The ‘Thorium molten salt reactor’ developed by Thorizon will use long-lived waste in combination with the abundant metal Thorium as fuel. This makes the reactor capable of making an important contribution to a safe, virtually inexhaustible and CO2-free energy supply.
Thorizon is a spin-off from the Nuclear Research and consultancy Group (NRG), the organisation which operates the High Flux Reactor in Petten. Thorizon has been working on this completely new type of reactor for several years. With the €12.5 million investment essential tests and research can be performed, to complete the design of a first prototype. The aim is to realise a first reactor system before 2035. Founder Lucas Pool:
‘What started as a good idea several years ago has developed into a very promising reactor design, we are very happy with the confidence of our investors and partners.’
Thorizon’s technology can play an important role in the global energy system, especially considering the increase in worldwide energy demand while at the same time phasing out fossil fuels. Thorizon’s first system uses a mixture of existing long-lived waste and the abundant metal Thorium, whereby a large amount of the long-lived waste can be turned into short-lived waste and CO2-free energy.
Thorizon
For the development of this technology, Thorizon will collaborate closely with several parties, such as the French company Orano, world leader in the recycling of nuclear materials, and NRG, the Dutch producer of medical isotopes and operator of nuclear research infrastructure. Together with EPZ, operator of the nuclear power plant in Borssele, Thorizon investigates the possibility of realising a first system on their site. A broader consortium of research institutions such as TU Delft and DIFFER, component suppliers, and industrial service providers is involved to support this development.
The investors are a strong team of private and public sector parties. The private investors are venture capital fund Positron Ventures(lead investor), impact investor Invest-NL, one private investor, and the company Huisman who not only invests but will also become an industrial supplier. The public sector investors are the two provincial funds PDENH (lead investor) and Impuls Zeeland. The parties invest in Thorizon because they view the company’s technology as a serious candidate to accelerate the transition to a carbon neutral economy, through the development of a completely new, safe, virtually inexhaustible and CO2 free energy source.
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