Thorium to light up the world | Srikumar Banerjee | TEDxCERN

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Twenty percent of the world’s population have no access to electricity. As people’s aspirations for a better quality of life increases, the demand for energy will also rise. Finding efficient resources that can sustain humanity’s needs is a challenge, especially resources that will maintain the balance in the environment and reduce the possibility of climate change. Srikumar Banerjee presents the advantages of thorium as a cleaner and more sustainable energy source.
Srikumar Banerjee, nuclear scientist and metallurgical engineer, is the Indian Department of Atomic Energy’s Chair Professor at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Homi J. Bhabha, after whom the Centre is named, started India’s three-stage nuclear power programme in the 50s. It is one of the best-known efforts to develop thorium-based nuclear power, thorium having greater safety benefits, absence of non-fertile isotopes and higher occurrence and availability. Banerjee’s work provides the basis for analysing the microstructural evolution and radiation stability of structural materials in nuclear reactors.
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