Hi Kacy,You've read up on the LFTR. I think it is the ultimate...

Hi Kacy,

You've read up on the LFTR. I think it is the ultimate goal, but is still a long way off.

There is one other potential way to mitigate the risks of PWR's like Fukushima--all metal fuel rods instead of the current zirconium-clad oxide rods.

Lightbridge (LTBR) is a US company that is working to commercialize thorium fuel rods for PWR's. An outgrowth of that work was a new design for uranium fuel rods in which a metallic uranium alloy is clad directly with Zr increasing heat transfer. This design allows the fuel to operate at 650?C rather than 1750?C, significantly increasing the safety margin against meltdown. Better yet, the power output of operating reactors could be increased by 20%.

The design is currently being tested in the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. Full-scale operation in a PWR is planned in 2017-18. I own the stock.

http://www.ltbridge.com/technologyservices/fueltechnology/thoriumuranium?