---
title: "Thorium Fuel Cycle: How Th-232 Becomes U-233"
description: "The thorium fuel cycle transforms thorium-232 into uranium-233, making it key to India's three-stage nuclear program and sustainable energy efforts."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/thorium-fuel-cycle"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The thorium fuel cycle is a nuclear fuel sequence in which fertile thorium-232 absorbs a neutron and transmutes into fissile uranium-233, which sustains the reactor chain reaction.
- Why can thorium not fuel a reactor on its own?
- How does the thorium cycle differ from the uranium-plutonium cycle?
- Is the thorium fuel cycle proliferation-resistant?
- Where does thorium fit in India's three-stage nuclear programme?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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In 2023 China's TMSR-LF1 thorium molten-salt reactor at Wuwei, Gansu, achieved criticality under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, becoming the first new reactor of its kind to operate since Oak Ridge's 1960s experiment.

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