I can speak to the Energy aspect of Yang’s platform. ( I’m from Canada, but the topic interests me a great deal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK_ctdto8i0 )

He’s clear that Molten Salt Reactors are key to harnessing Thorium. MSR are mentioned specifically in policy, although he’s only ever spoken short-hand about “Thorium Reactors”.

Yang looks to start bringing Th-MSR online in 2027. That’s very ambitious, but does match projections made by ThorCon (for deployment outside USA) and Flibe Energy (inside USA). Certainly Flibe’s projections (stated to Scott Adams) were under assumption that Flibe’s 3 current DOE GAIN vouchers return positive results, that further development won’t hit big tech snags, and there’s political will to update regulation to support non-PWR designs.

There’s been political will since 2016 and 3 DOE GAIN vouchers (for Flibe) since 2018. Support could end abruptly if a strongly anti-nuclear Dem is elected, which I find rather unsettling. Bernie Sanders could easily replicate Germany’s expensive failure to decarbonize.

Fusion is also an energy tech he’s looking to support.

At ORNL MSRW 2019 I did hear a very compelling presentation arguing that today’s Fusion R&D involves energy densities (thanks to advancements in powerful superconducting magnetic tape) that will likely benefit from FLiBe salts as working fluid (to transport heat). Lithium (Li-6) in the salt can be used to produce Tritium to fuel the fusion reactor.

Flibe Energy’s Thorium reactor uses FLiBe salt with a different Lithium isotope (Li-7).

Different isotope, but chemically identical. Pumps, metallurgy, monitoring salt content for impurities, mechanisms to keep the salt pure… all that has synergy between Th-MSR and Fusion.

Politically the I-support-Thorium-and-Fusion Venn Diagram must be miniscule. But from a R&D perspective there’s real sense to it, primarily because of Molten Salt. (Again, 3 words I’ve never heard Yang say out loud.)

I understand lots of pro-nuke folk are not impressed by Yang saying the reactors he’ll build are Thorium and only committing to keep current PWR running (not build more). I think that’s a mistake, but that’s a policy he’d probably be up for rethinking. He DOES recognize the value of existing nuclear, and his platform INCLUDES educating the public about nuclear power.

Most of the public doesn’t know nuclear is low-carbon, nor that it is statistically safe. That’s an easy win.

Yang committing to Thorium Reactors by 2027 says (to me) that he’s expecting to drive hard on nuclear R&D. It won’t be the next president’s problem, he’s making it his own. And I hope (if elected) he takes on a role of explainer-in-chief regarding why-Nuclear, why-MSR and why-Thorium.

So long as Th-MSR is the goal by 2027, I can’t imagine any setback being so significant that a very good MSRs not being deployed. Not Thorium breeder (Flibe Energy)? How about fast-spectrum Uranium (TerraPower or Elysium)? Can’t do it? How about a Thorium Converter (ThorCon) or an MSR running of enriched Uranium (Terrestrial Energy)? Still too hard? Fine, Jesus, solid-fuel enriched uranium pebbles with MSR as working fluid! (Kairos Power.) Every single one of those reactors is an ultra-low-carbon source of clean energy. Any one of them could decarbonize the grid. But I’d certainly rather Th-MSR be the target then solid-fuel with MSR coolant.

For that matter, AP1000 could decarbonize the grid too.

I’d hope Yang can find a framework to continue deploying AP1000 until MSR are commercialized, and hopefully AP1000 costs can continue to drop (the 2nd unit is cheaper than first keep that going). If the grid is already significantly decarbonized by AP1000s then there’s industrial process heat as the need-an-MSR next step to focus on.

I live in Alberta. Our carbon emissions are very high. We will not lower them with conventional reactors… we need low cost, small water throughput, and high-temperature process heat. That doesn’t exist yet.

MSR will be developed in Canada, and in China. But the only operating MSR ever in the world were in USA. That will remain true until 2020 when China’s first Th-MSR pilot begins operation. I wish I knew more, but China was unable to attend ORNL MSRW 2019 (in October) due to travel-Visa issues.