A company called Laser Power Systems has come up with an incredible concept for a thorium powered car. The thorium used in these cars means it wouldn’t need refuelling for over 100 years. Thorium is so dense in fact, that the fuel in this car would probably even outlive us.
Thorium is among some of the densest materials on our planet. It is one of only two significantly radioactive elements that still occur naturally in vast quantities, as a primordial element. Named after Thor, the God of Thunder, a small sample of Thorium produces a whopping 20 million times more energy than a sample of coal of the same size – this means its an undoubtedly ideal source of energy.
CEO of Laser Power Systems, Dr. Charles Stevens admits, however, that thorium engines won’t be used in cars anytime soon – due to the huge interest in making money off fossil fuels and the lack of interest from car manufacturers to make any major transitions to renewable energy. He said:
“Cars are not our primary interest, the automakers don’t want to buy them.”
Stevens went on to say that he wanted to power the world with thorium, due to its extremely long life span and unbelievably large amounts of energy it produces. He stated that a small thorium turbine around the size of a small air conditioning unit could be used as cheap alternative to power local businesses and even our homes in due course. Thorium could also be used in extremely remote places and areas of the world that have no electricity.
Lets hope car manufacturers see the benefits soon and make a solid commitment to convert to renewable and sustainable energies, instead of helping the oil corporations fill their pockets whilst destroying our planet.