America Gave China an Edge in Nuclear Power
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U.S.-China Cooperation in Molten Salt Reactor Technology: A Pioneering Partnership
The Genesis of Collaboration: SNAP and the Berkeley Presentation
The early dynamic of U.S.-China cooperation in nuclear technology can be observed in a video of the Shanghai Nuclear Advanced Power (SNAP) institute’s first presentation at Berkeley in August 2012. Kun Chen, a Ph.D. graduate from Indiana University, represented SNAP. The audience, largely composed of individuals in their fifties and sixties, sought to understand the practicality of SNAP’s ambitious plan.
Questions focused on the project’s budget – approximately $350 million over five years – and the sourcing of molten salt, a critical component. Chen highlighted China’s existing facilities capable of producing molten salt, a resource scarce elsewhere.
Mutual Benefits and Knowledge Transfer
While the immediate benefits for the Chinese side are less apparent from the video, Chen emphasized the value of connecting with U.S. experts. Molten salt reactor technology was a niche field globally, with only an estimated thirty to forty individuals actively engaged in fission reactor research using the substance in 2011. Collaboration with U.S. researchers made the project seem more achievable.
For the Americans, the partnership offered a unique possibility to observe China’s progress with resources unavailable domestically. Furthermore, cooperation with SNAP served as a subtle impetus for the U.S. federal government, leveraging the logic that “If the Chinese are doing it, it must be relevant,” as stated by Peter Forsberg.
The Oak Ridge Agreement: Direct Funding and Knowledge Preservation
The cooperative research-and-progress agreement between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and SNAP bypassed customary funding channels. SNAP directly funded a molten salt loop at Oak Ridge with approximately $4 million, enabling researchers to test materials and components for circulating molten salt. This project also provided a central hub for U.S. molten salt reactor research.
David Holcomb, speaking to MIT Technology Review, highlighted the urgency of knowledge transfer. “One of the significant things to realize is that a number of key people in molten-salt reactors are retiring very fast or passing away,” he said. “China is providing the funding that allows us to transfer that knowledge, to gain practical experience at building and operating these reactors.”