limate change and energy sources are two of the key issues of our time. While our climate becomes more and more volatile by the year, the strain on our planets limited resources is becoming exasperated by the development of large economies such as China and India, which in turn is damaging the climate.

It’s a vicious circle.

As a result of the competitive nature of our economic system, countries are engaging in trade and actual wars against each other in a necessary battle for resources.

The world economy is absolutely dependent on fossil fuels. Ultimately they are finite and not a genuine long term solution. Despite this, the unfortunate truth is that as the price of fossil fuels goes up, previously non cost effective reserves become economically viable. Estimates of fossil fuel depletion dates suggest late 21st and even early 22nd century. But just because we could burn it all, doesn’t mean that we should and we are going to need an alternative. Renewables are not a realistic replacement for the base load energy currently provided by fossil fuels, and an attempt at this would likely cause as much environmental damage.

Most developed economies such as the UK use fossil fuels for around 80% of their energy, and despite the many, many summits organised to take action against this, not one has produced something even close to resembling change. The London Climate Forum coming up this month will make all the right noises no doubt, but with little substance.

However it needn’t be game over yet. There are several solutions which have been tried and tested in the past, but have been closed down for one reason or another. The 21st century is the time that energy from Thorium should, and needs, to be taken seriously.

The technology aimed at utilizingThorium initially emerged in the 1950s and 60s in the US, under the stewardship of Alvin Weinberg, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a facility that contributed to the Manhattan project. The most important demonstration of this technology was undoubtedly the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, running from 1965-1969. This experiment used Uranium 233, which can easily bread from thorium, dissolved in a fluoride lithium beryllium salt as the reactor fuel.

Unfortunately, the US government didn’t want energy- they wanted weapons. This was the Cold War, and the focus of nuclear research was geared towards proliferation rather than a civilian energy source. Milton Shaw, a former Navy soldier who was head of the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) shut the programme down, despite the huge potential for abundant energy in Weinberg’s creation. 40 years on, the reverberations of Shaw’s decision are being keenly felt by energy hungry consumers around the world, whose prices are sky high due to ever more scant resources.

At the same time, conventional nuclear power is going quickly out of fashion with governments around the world. After disasters like Fukushima countries like Japan and Germany have decided to scale back their nuclear programmes: the risk of meltdown has been deemed unacceptable. Added to this, Uranium 235, which is used in nuclear reactors, is as rare as gold. Contrast this with thorium, which is as common as lead, and you get some idea of the incredible abundance of this resource, which is currently treated as a waste product.

Thorium energy has been largely ignored since Weinberg’s initial foray into the field, but in the last decade or so, there has been renewed interest in the technology as governments try to devise a way to meet their citizens’ energy demands.

Both India and China have renewed researchinto the field, due to the necessity of energy in developing economies, but there has been comparatively little interest in the West, despite the pressing need for clean, plentiful energy. Researchers like Kirk Sorenson, the founder of Flibe Energy, Inc have tried to kick start the Thorium renaissance, but as yet, few people are sitting up and taking notice.

Governments have repeatedly shown that they will not forgo economic growth for environmental considerations. The primary requirement of a fossil fuel replacement is therefore going to be the ability to be profitable at the market price. In order to warrant replacing fossil fuels, it must also satisfy the environmental criteria but ultimately, this is a secondary consideration. Most renewables do not compete on price with fossil fuels due to the diffuse energy sources and additional infrastructure required. Thorium energy satisfies both these issues. Not only is it a clean, but more importantly it is a market based, long term solution that is available worldwide. Several estimates have put it at the same price and even cheaper than the cheapest, dirtiest coal.

Molten salt technology possesses many crucial advantages over conventional nuclear power stations. It operates at atmospheric pressure, compared to ~100bar and higher for LWRs. There is no risk of melt down as the fuel is already liquid and operates at around 600K. It also produces just 1% of the radioactive waste, much of which has secondary uses and due to its negative coefficient of reactivity; it is able to respond quickly and accurately to demand. Most importantly, a reactor based on this type of technology is walk away safe and under power failure, it automatically puts itself into a stable configuration without the need for any human intervention.

Crucially, the fissile material produced from thorium is unable to be used in weaponry, and it is first and foremost an economic source of energy – the fact that it is environmentally friendly is just an added bonus.

Thorium’s time to shine has arrived. The world needs new energy sources, without sacrificing economic growth. The solution is there, people just need to sit up and take notice.