All-Parliamentary group on Thorium Energy

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

The All-Parliamentary group on Thorium Energy was set up to 'explore and discuss the potential benefits of exploiting energy from Thorium, and the merits of various technologies for so doing'.

Current activities

The group’s first year has been busy and fruitful. The group has consulted with a wide range of experts in the thorium fuel cycle and advanced reactors, and many members have spoken about thorium in Parliamentary debates. Group members have visited the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) at Sellafield and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) at Culham to discuss thorium-fuelled reactors, and in January 2013, group members chaired the UK’s first thorium working group, comprising representatives from industry, academia and government.

January also saw group members writing a joint letter to the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNETP), a pan-European body which sets the agenda for EU-level fission research and development funding. APPG members were disappointed that a draft of SNETP’s key policy document, the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), did not provide adequate coverage of the thorium and MSR R&D work currently taking place in Europe. 11 APPG Members wrote to the SNETP editorial board explaining their concerns. SNETP took our Members’ concerns on board, and substantially increased the focus on thorium and MSRs in the SRIA.

Parliamentary pass

Neil Endicott of the Weinberg Foundation holds a parliamentary pass in his role as coordinator of the APPG.

Affiliations

• The Weinberg Foundation, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation.

Members

Officers

• Chair: Lord Lucas (Conservative)
• Vice-Chair: Julian Huppert MP (Liberal Democrat)
• Treasurer: Viscount Hanworth (Labour)
• Secretary: Bishop of Hereford

Contact, Resources and Notes

Contact

Dr Julian Huppert MP, House of Commons, London SW1A OAA.

Tel: 020 7219 0647

Group’s Website: http://www.appg-thorium.org.uk/