EU Commissioner gives go-ahead for Brabant's molten salt reactor

Yesterday, European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra gave the green light for a major step in Brabant toward a new way of generating energy in Europe: the establishment of a test site for a molten salt reactor. This took place at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. This compact and safe reactor can be built more quickly than traditional nuclear power plants and enables the reuse of nuclear waste.

“The energy transition is one of the greatest challenges of our time for Europe and the world,” said Hoekstra. "Nuclear energy must be part of the energy mix. Molten salt reactors are an important step toward stable, reliable, and clean energy for Europe, enabling Europe to continue to guarantee its independence. It’s great to see such an innovation in the Netherlands.” The European Commissioner was at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven together with a delegation from the national government, the province of North Brabant, and the business community. Together with Thorizon’s CEO—Kiki Lauwers—he cut the ribbon, marking the official launch. This took place in the presence of State Secretary Jo-Annes de Bat (KGG), Provincial Executive Member Martijn van Gruijthuijsen, and CEO Peter Wennink.

Leading the way

“North Brabant is thriving thanks to collaboration,” says Martijn van Gruijthuijsen, Provincial Executive Member for Economic Affairs. “Our smart manufacturing industry knows how to work together, and I’m proud of that. With our strong high-tech sector and research institutions, we have everything we need to lead the way in this development. This technology offers us the opportunity to safely combine sustainable energy, industrial strength, and international collaboration.”

Low-carbon economy

Solar and wind energy are indispensable in the transition to a sustainable energy supply, but they depend on the weather and are therefore not always available. Molten salt reactors offer the solution. They are compact, safe, and faster to build than traditional nuclear power plants, and they enable the reuse of nuclear waste. As a result, they do more than generate electricity. They also provide industrial heat and hydrogen. And those are key building blocks for a low-carbon economy.

Concrete results

The test site stems from the PROMOSA project, in which the Brabant-based companies Thorizon, VDL Groep, and DEMCON, together with the province, are developing and testing crucial components for a molten salt reactor. The project has a total budget of 8 million euros, half of which is contributed by the province. This investment is yielding concrete results in the form of working prototypes and the test facility in Brabant. All components are tested in molten salt at high temperatures, without nuclear fuel.

Important milestone

For Thorizon, the test site is an important milestone on the path to building its first reactor, the Thorizon One, which the European Commission has designated as one of eight “flagship” projects for the accelerated development of small modular reactors. “Thanks to the support of the province and the collaboration with strong manufacturing companies such as VDL Groep and DEMCON, we can build, test, and prepare our technology for serial production. Brabant is truly an accelerator for our project in Europe,” says Kiki Lauwers, CEO of Thorizon. The project is part of the Nuclear Innovation Coalition, which the province of North Brabant established in 2022 to build a strong position in safe, new forms of nuclear energy in collaboration with governments, companies, and knowledge institutions.