China Plans to Fire Up World's First Accelerator-Driven Nuclear Reactor, a Potential '1,000-Year Energy Source'

China is preparing to activate the world's first accelerator-driven nuclear reactor, a technology that scientists describe as a potential '1,000-year energy source' capable of generating power from thorium and spent nuclear fuel that conventional reactors cannot use. The system works by using a particle accelerator to drive nuclear fission in subcritical fuel, meaning the reaction cannot sustain itself without the accelerator -- a safety feature that eliminates the possibility of a meltdown. If successful, the technology would represent a paradigm shift in nuclear energy, transforming both nuclear waste disposal and the global energy landscape at a moment when the Iran war is highlighting the world's dangerous dependence on fossil fuels from unstable regions.