Thorium Power

From Powerbase
Revision as of 14:30, 12 September 2007 by Billy (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search

Thorium Power develops and owns nuclear fuel technology to take advantage of the current expansion of the nuclear power industry. Their technology facilitates the implementation of thorium-based fuel to address proliferation and waste concerns in the generation of power from nuclear reactors. The Company leverages its nuclear technology, business and regulatory expertise and relationships by offering services to commercial entities and governments looking to establish or expand nuclear industry capabilities and infrastructure. Thorium Power maintains long-standing relationships with leading Russian nuclear entities.

They argue they offer 'cleaner' nuclear power by using Thorium (a cheap and relatively plentiful element occurring in minerals) and that this stops the reactor from producing nuclear weapons-usable plutonium. The process was developed by Alvin Radkowsky an American-born Israeli nuclear physicist (1915—2002) who helped build the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, in the early 1950s and, later in his career, worked on developing Thorium nuclear reactor fuel that would produce a minimal amount of radioactive waste. The new technology is known as the Non-Proliferative Light Water Thorium Reactor, or Radkowsky Thorium Reactor (RTR) for short.

Prof. Radkowsky believed that Western governments should be pressured into selling only RTR-type nuclear reactors to developing nations. The RTR can be installed in developing countries which lack natural sources of power such as coal, oil or even firewood, without fear that unstable governments may divert the reactor fuel for weapon purposes.

Radkowsky was Chief Scientist of the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program from 1948 to 1972 and studied under Dr. Edward Teller. His invention has been declassified and is now used by almost all commercial reactors. Radkowsky joined Tel Aviv University's Faculty as professor of nuclear engineering in 1972. Funding for his research on RTRs came from the Raytheon Corp., Nuclear Division and private investors.

International Advisors

Seth Grae is a seasoned Washington player who estimates that he spends about 10% of his time on "government relations," better known as lobbying. Faced with entrenched bureaucratic opposition from the Department of Energy, he has wisely sought support from Congress, which provides all of the agency's multibillion-dollar budget.

According to CNN Thorium backers on Capitol Hill include Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Representative Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada), both of whom are especially concerned about safe nuclear-waste disposal because of the federal government's plan to build a central waste repository underneath Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Other prominent boosters are Senator John Warner (R-Virginia) and Representative Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican and vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.


Ambassador Dennis K Hays joined Thorium Power, Ltd, as Vice President, Director of Government Affairs and Secretary, in July 2006. Ambassador Hays joined the US Foreign Service in 1976 and served overseas in the Caribbean, Africa and South America. He was twice elected President of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA). He was the Coordinator for Cuban Affairs at the Department of State from 1993 to 1995 and served as Director of the Office for Mexican Affairs the following year. He was the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Suriname from February 1997 to June 2000.

Andrey Mushakov is Executive Vice President of Thorium Power, Ltd, acting as the primary liaison between Thorium Power and the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow and other Russian entities. Dr Mushakov has the following degrees: PhD in Economics from St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (Russia), MS in Management with excellence (MBA equivalent) from Hult International Business School (formerly the Arthur D Little School of Management) based in Cambridge, MA, where he was enrolled as a recipient of the Russian President’s Scholarship, and BS in Banking and Finance with honors from the Finance Academy of Russia