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{{Short description|Private Danish company developing molten salt technology}}
'''Copenhagen Atomics''' is a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[molten salt]] technology company developing mass manufacturable [[molten-salt reactor]]s. The company is pursuing [[small modular reactor|small modular]], [[molten salt|molten fuel salt]], [[thorium fuel cycle]], [[thermal reactor|thermal spectrum]], [[breeder reactor|breeder reactors]] using separated [[plutonium]] from [[spent nuclear fuel]] as the initial fissile load for the first generation of reactors.<ref name=iaea-201809>{{cite web |title=Advances in Small Modular Reactor Technology Developments |url=https://aris.iaea.org/Publications/SMR-Book_2018.pdf |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) |date=September 2018 |pages=205-208 |accessdate=22 December 2019}}</ref>


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Copenhagen Atomics' headquarters and production facility is located in Kastrup close to [[Copenhagen Airport]].
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{{Multiple issues|
{{Notability|Companies|date=September 2026}}
{{Independent sources|date=September 2026}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
==History==
Copenhagen Atomics was founded in 2014 by a group of scientists and engineers meeting at [[Technical University of Denmark]] and around the [[Copenhagen metropolitan area|greater Copenhagen area]] to discuss [[thorium]] and [[molten salt reactors]], which were later incorporated in 2015.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHO1ebNxhVI|title=Making Safe Nuclear Power from Thorium - Thomas Jam Pedersen - TEDxCopenhagen|date=15 November 2016|publisher=YouTube |accessdate=22 December 2019}}</ref>


{{Infobox company
In 2016, Copenhagen Atomics was part of MIMOSA, a European nuclear molten salt research consortium.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-08-101126-3.00023-3 |chapter=Copenhagen Atomics waste burner |title=Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy |date=2017 |last1=Pedersen |first1=Thomas J. |pages=599–607 |isbn=978-0-08-101126-3 }}</ref>
| name = Copenhagen Atomics
| logo = Copenhagen Atomics.png
| logo_size = 300px
| type = [[Private company|Private]]
| industry = [[Nuclear power]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|2014|8|25}}
| products = {{unbulleted list
| Molten Salt Loops
| Molten Salt Pumps
| Molten Salt Measurement Equipment
| Purified Salt
}}
| hq_location_city = [[Copenhagen]]
| hq_location_country = [[Denmark]]
| website = [http://www.copenhagenatomics.com/ www.copenhagenatomics.com]
}}


'''Copenhagen Atomics''' is a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[molten salt]] technology company developing mass manufacturable [[molten-salt reactor]]s. The company is pursuing [[small modular reactor|small modular]], [[molten salt|molten fuel salt]], [[thorium fuel cycle]], [[thermal reactor|thermal spectrum]], [[breeder reactor|breeder reactors]] using separated [[plutonium]] from [[spent nuclear fuel]] as the initial fissile load for the first generation of reactors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Advances in Small Modular Reactor Technology Developments |url=https://aris.iaea.org/Publications/SMR-Book_2018.pdf |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) |accessdate=22 December 2019}}</ref>
In 2019, Copenhagen Atomics moved premises from a basement at the Technical University of Denmark to a location at the [[Alfa Laval]] company premises with production facilities. In 2023, Copenhagen Atomics closed an [[Venture round|investment round]] of €25 million and moved to a larger headquarters and test facility at [[Kastrup]], near [[Copenhagen Airport]].<ref name=mps-20240531>{{cite news |url=https://www.modernpowersystems.com/analysis/copenhagen-atomics-the-story-so-far/ |title=Copenhagen Atomics: the story so far |last1=May |first1=Tracey |last2=Glahn |first2=Jesper |website=Modern Power Systems |date=31 May 2024 |access-date=24 September 2026}}</ref><ref name=oaklins-202301>{{cite web |url=https://www.oaklins.com/dk/en/deals/108785/ |title=Copenhagen Atomics concludes its 2022 funding round |website=Oaklins |date=January 2023 |access-date=25 September 2026}}</ref>


Copenhagen Atomics' headquarters and production facility is located in Kastrup close to [[Copenhagen Airport]].
By the end of 2022, Copenhagen Atomics finished a full-size prototype reactor. The prototype is a full-scale test platform, that tests the system in its entirety, with water as its medium. In 2023 a full-scale prototype molten salt reactor was built to test the entire system with non-radioactive molten salts.<ref name=nucnet-20221122>{{cite news |url=https://www.nucnet.org/news/danish-company-to-begin-testing-thorium-prototype-11-2-2022 |title=Danish Company To Begin Testing Thorium Prototype |last=Dalton |first=David |website=NucNet |date=22 November 2022 |access-date=22 September 2026}}</ref>


==History==
In May 2023, Copenhagen Atomics signed a memorandum of understanding with the [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian]] companies [[Topsoe]], [[Alfa Laval]] and [[Aalborg CSP]], and [[Indonesia|Indonesian]] companies [[Pupuk Kalimantan Timur]] and [[Pertamina|Pertamina New and Renewable Energy]], with the prospect of establishing a [[green ammonia]] plant in [[Bontang]], Indonesia, powered by nuclear energy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.investmentmonitor.ai/news/danish-companies-sign-mou-on-nuclear-deal-with-indonesia/ |title=Danish companies sign MOU on nuclear deal with Indonesia |website=investmentmonitor.ai |date=2023-05-22}}</ref>
Copenhagen Atomics was founded in 2014 by a group of scientists and engineers meeting at [[Technical University of Denmark]] and around the [[Copenhagen metropolitan area|greater Copenhagen area]] to discuss [[thorium]] and [[molten salt reactors]], which were later incorporated in 2015.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHO1ebNxhVI|title=Making Safe Nuclear Power from Thorium - Thomas Jam Pedersen - TEDxCopenhagen|date=15 November 2016|publisher=YouTube |accessdate=22 December 2019}}</ref>


In 2016, Copenhagen Atomics was part of MIMOSA, a European nuclear molten salt research consortium.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-08-101126-3.00023-3 |chapter=Copenhagen Atomics waste burner |title=Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy |date=2017 |last1=Pedersen |first1=Thomas J. |pages=599–607 |isbn=978-0-08-101126-3 }}</ref>
In July 2024, Copenhagen Atomics announced that their prototype reactors are ready to be tested in a real life scenario, in a critical experiment at the [[Paul Scherrer Institute]] in [[Switzerland]]. Originally planned to start tests in 2026-27, this would be the first time in European history that a critical experiment is carried out with a thorium molten salt reactor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Copenhagen Atomics enlists PSI to validate reactor technology : New Nuclear|work=World Nuclear News |url=https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Copenhagen-Atomics-enlists-PSI-to-validate-reactor |access-date=2024-07-12}}</ref>


By the end of 2022, Copenhagen Atomics finished a full-size prototype reactor. The prototype is a full-scale test platform, that tests the system in its entirety, with water as its medium. In 2023 a full-scale prototype molten salt reactor was built to test the entire system with non-radioactive molten salts.<<ref name=nucnet-20221122>{{cite news |url=https://www.nucnet.org/news/danish-company-to-begin-testing-thorium-prototype-11-2-2022 |title=Danish Company To Begin Testing Thorium Prototype |last=Dalton |first=David |website=NucNet |date=22 November 2022 |access-date=22 September 2026}}</ref>
In 2025, Copenhagen Atomics received a €2.5 million grant to support development and prototype validation from the [[European Innovation Council]] Accelerator programme, with access to up to €15 million of equity investment to help prepare for commercial production.<ref name=nei-20250709>{{cite news |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/news/eic-funds-thorium-reactor/ |title=EIC funds thorium reactor |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=9 July 2025 |access-date=23 September 2026}}</ref>


In May 2023, Copenhagen Atomics signed a memorandum of understanding with the [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian]] companies [[Topsoe]], [[Alfa Laval]] and [[Aalborg CSP]], and [[Indonesia|Indonesian]] companies [[Pupuk Kalimantan Timur]] and [[Pertamina|Pertamina New and Renewable Energy]], with the prospect of establishing a [[green ammonia]] plant in [[Bontang]], Indonesia. The plant will be capable of producing 1 million tonnes of ultra-low emission [[ammonia]] annually, which will save the emission of 1.7 million tonnes of [[carbon dioxide]] per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.investmentmonitor.ai/news/danish-companies-sign-mou-on-nuclear-deal-with-indonesia/ |title=Danish companies sign MOU on nuclear deal with Indonesia |website=investmentmonitor.ai |date=2023-05-22 |access-date=2023-06-07}}</ref>
In September 2026, [[Turkey]]'s [[Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources]] made an agreement with Copenhagen Atomics to jointly develop the use of thorium in  nuclear technology, aiming to develop domestic production of [[thorium compounds]]. Turkey has large [[Occurrence of thorium|reserves of thorium]], as of 2026 the sixth largest of identified global thorium resources.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.turkiyetoday.com/business/turkiye-taps-danish-company-to-utilize-vast-thorium-reserves-for-nuclear-energy-3227626?s=1 |title=Türkiye taps Danish company to utilize vast thorium reserves for nuclear energy |website=Türkiye Today |date=7 September 2026 |access-date=22 September 2026}}</ref>


In July of 2024, Copenhagen Atomics announced that their prototype reactors are ready to be tested in a real life scenario, in a critical experiment at the [[Paul Scherrer Institute]] in [[Switzerland]]. Set to launch in 2026-27, this will be the first time in European history that a critical experiment is carried out with a thorium molten salt reactor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Copenhagen Atomics enlists PSI to validate reactor technology : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News |url=https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Copenhagen-Atomics-enlists-PSI-to-validate-reactor |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=www.world-nuclear-news.org}}</ref>  
In 2026, the planning was to submit the application for the nuclear test facility by the end of 2026. The first chain reaction tests would
take place not earlier than 2028.<ref>[https://www.psi.ch/en/ahl/faqs-on-the-balder-project Why are the tests not taking place in 2026 as originally planned?], 2026, Quarter 2</ref><ref name=msn-20260921/> Commercial deployment was forecast to be about 2030–2031.<ref name=nei-20260521>{{cite news |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/analysis/proving-msr-reliability/ |title=Proving MSR reliability |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=21 May 2026 |access-date=22 September 2026}}</ref>


In Q2/2026, the actual schedule is to do the test "not earlier than 2028", the same 2-3 years from now like 2024. <ref>https://www.psi.ch/en/ahl/faqs-on-the-balder-project</ref> Commercial deployment was forecast to be about 2030–2031.<ref name=nei-20260521>{{cite news |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/analysis/proving-msr-reliability/?cf-view |title=Proving MSR reliability |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=21 May 2026 |access-date=22 September 2026}}</ref>
As of 2026, alongside the reactor-development program, the company had four commercial products and services for laboratories and other reactor developers: molten salt test loops, specialised salts, enriched lithium isotopes and testing services. The company is raising capital to support development toward the planned 2028 first chain reaction tests.<ref name=msn-20260921>{{cite news |url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/as-global-power-demand-surges-copenhagen-atomics-bets-on-a-different-model-for-nuclear-power/ar-AA2cFPCl |title=As global power demand surges, Copenhagen Atomics bets on a different model for nuclear power |last=Alhassan |first=Omar |publisher=MSN |date=21 September 2026 |access-date=24 September 2026}}</ref>


==Reactor design==
==Reactor design==
Line 51: Line 29:


The design requires that fission products are removed online (while the reactor is operating).<ref name=YT_CA_20023-09-22>{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U434Sy9BGf8 |title=THORIUM: World's CHEAPEST Energy! [Science Unveiled] | publisher=Copenhagen Atomics | date=2023-09-22 | time=12:50 }}</ref>
The design requires that fission products are removed online (while the reactor is operating).<ref name=YT_CA_20023-09-22>{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U434Sy9BGf8 |title=THORIUM: World's CHEAPEST Energy! [Science Unveiled] | publisher=Copenhagen Atomics | date=2023-09-22 | time=12:50 }}</ref>
Named the Copenhagen Atomics Waste Burner, the reactor's design thermal output is 50 MWt, with an envisaged electricity generating capacity of 20 MWe.<ref name=iaea-201809/>


==Research and development==
==Research and development==
Line 58: Line 38:


Copenhagen Atomics offers many of their technologies commercially available to the market. This includes pumped molten salt loops for use in molten salt reactor research, as well as highly purified salts for high temperature [[concentrated solar power]], [[Thermal_energy_storage#Molten salt technology|molten salt energy storage]], and molten salt chemistry research.<ref>{{cite web |title=Products |url=https://www.copenhagenatomics.com/products/ |publisher=Copenhagen Atomics |accessdate=22 December 2019}}</ref>
Copenhagen Atomics offers many of their technologies commercially available to the market. This includes pumped molten salt loops for use in molten salt reactor research, as well as highly purified salts for high temperature [[concentrated solar power]], [[Thermal_energy_storage#Molten salt technology|molten salt energy storage]], and molten salt chemistry research.<ref>{{cite web |title=Products |url=https://www.copenhagenatomics.com/products/ |publisher=Copenhagen Atomics |accessdate=22 December 2019}}</ref>
==Environmental Impact==
According to the website Thorium Energy World: "The CAWB [ed. Copenhagen Atomics Waste Burner] will use thorium to burn out [[actinide]]s from spent nuclear fuel in order to convert long-lived [[radioactive waste]] into short-lived radioactive waste, while producing large amounts of energy and jobs in present time."<ref>{{cite web|title=Copenhagen Atomics|url=http://www.thoriumenergyworld.com/copenhagen-atomics.html|publisher=Thorium Energy World|accessdate=9 June 2021}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Latest revision as of 03:36, 1 October 2026

Copenhagen Atomics is a Danish molten salt technology company developing mass manufacturable molten-salt reactors. The company is pursuing small modular, molten fuel salt, thorium fuel cycle, thermal spectrum, breeder reactors using separated plutonium from spent nuclear fuel as the initial fissile load for the first generation of reactors.[1]

Copenhagen Atomics' headquarters and production facility is located in Kastrup close to Copenhagen Airport.

History

Copenhagen Atomics was founded in 2014 by a group of scientists and engineers meeting at Technical University of Denmark and around the greater Copenhagen area to discuss thorium and molten salt reactors, which were later incorporated in 2015.[2]

In 2016, Copenhagen Atomics was part of MIMOSA, a European nuclear molten salt research consortium.[3]

In 2019, Copenhagen Atomics moved premises from a basement at the Technical University of Denmark to a location at the Alfa Laval company premises with production facilities. In 2023, Copenhagen Atomics closed an investment round of €25 million and moved to a larger headquarters and test facility at Kastrup, near Copenhagen Airport.[4][5]

By the end of 2022, Copenhagen Atomics finished a full-size prototype reactor. The prototype is a full-scale test platform, that tests the system in its entirety, with water as its medium. In 2023 a full-scale prototype molten salt reactor was built to test the entire system with non-radioactive molten salts.[6]

In May 2023, Copenhagen Atomics signed a memorandum of understanding with the Scandinavian companies Topsoe, Alfa Laval and Aalborg CSP, and Indonesian companies Pupuk Kalimantan Timur and Pertamina New and Renewable Energy, with the prospect of establishing a green ammonia plant in Bontang, Indonesia, powered by nuclear energy.[7]

In July 2024, Copenhagen Atomics announced that their prototype reactors are ready to be tested in a real life scenario, in a critical experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. Originally planned to start tests in 2026-27, this would be the first time in European history that a critical experiment is carried out with a thorium molten salt reactor.[8]

In 2025, Copenhagen Atomics received a €2.5 million grant to support development and prototype validation from the European Innovation Council Accelerator programme, with access to up to €15 million of equity investment to help prepare for commercial production.[9]

In September 2026, Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources made an agreement with Copenhagen Atomics to jointly develop the use of thorium in nuclear technology, aiming to develop domestic production of thorium compounds. Turkey has large reserves of thorium, as of 2026 the sixth largest of identified global thorium resources.[10]

In 2026, the planning was to submit the application for the nuclear test facility by the end of 2026. The first chain reaction tests would take place not earlier than 2028.[11][12] Commercial deployment was forecast to be about 2030–2031.[13]

As of 2026, alongside the reactor-development program, the company had four commercial products and services for laboratories and other reactor developers: molten salt test loops, specialised salts, enriched lithium isotopes and testing services. The company is raising capital to support development toward the planned 2028 first chain reaction tests.[12]

Reactor design

The company describes its reactor core as shaped like an onion, with the outermost layer being a breeding blanket of 2,000 liters of Lithium Fluoride /Thorium Fluoride salts at 600°C used to transmute thorium into fissile Uranium-233.

The next layer consists of heavy water at 80°C.

Farther inward is the pumped fuel salt layer, about 200 liters of Lithium 7 Fluoride/Uranium Tetrafluoride, which enters the core at 600°C and exits at 700°C, and serves as both fuel and coolant.

The innermost layer is the moderator, more heavy water at 80°C, with the total amount of heavy water being ~1,200 liters.

The layers are separated by stainless steel, in early versions, but later probably by silicon carbide composites. 2 to 3 centimetres of yttria stabilised zirconia insulate the heavy water from the hot salts.

The design requires that fission products are removed online (while the reactor is operating).[14] Named the Copenhagen Atomics Waste Burner, the reactor's design thermal output is 50 MWt, with an envisaged electricity generating capacity of 20 MWe.[1]

Research and development

Copenhagen Atomics is pursuing a hardware-driven iterative component-by-component approach to reactor development, instead of a full design license and approval approach. Copenhagen Atomics is actively developing and testing valves, pumps, heat exchangers, measurement systems, salt chemistry and purification systems, and control systems and software for molten salt applications.[15]

The company has also developed the world's only canned molten salt pump and are developing an active electromagnetic bearing canned molten salt pump.[15] In February 2026, the molten salt pump completed two years of continuous test operation under high-temperature conditions.[16][13]

Copenhagen Atomics offers many of their technologies commercially available to the market. This includes pumped molten salt loops for use in molten salt reactor research, as well as highly purified salts for high temperature concentrated solar power, molten salt energy storage, and molten salt chemistry research.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Advances in Small Modular Reactor Technology Developments". International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). September 2018. 205-208. https://aris.iaea.org/Publications/SMR-Book_2018.pdf. Retrieved on 22 December 2019. 
  2. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
  3. ↑ Pedersen, Thomas J. (2017). "Copenhagen Atomics waste burner". Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy. pp. 599–607. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-101126-3.00023-3. ISBN 978-0-08-101126-3. 
  4. ↑ May, Tracey; Glahn, Jesper (31 May 2024). "Copenhagen Atomics: the story so far". https://www.modernpowersystems.com/analysis/copenhagen-atomics-the-story-so-far/. 
  5. ↑ "Copenhagen Atomics concludes its 2022 funding round". January 2023. https://www.oaklins.com/dk/en/deals/108785/. 
  6. ↑ Dalton, David (22 November 2022). "Danish Company To Begin Testing Thorium Prototype". https://www.nucnet.org/news/danish-company-to-begin-testing-thorium-prototype-11-2-2022. 
  7. ↑ "Danish companies sign MOU on nuclear deal with Indonesia". 2023-05-22. https://www.investmentmonitor.ai/news/danish-companies-sign-mou-on-nuclear-deal-with-indonesia/. 
  8. ↑ "Copenhagen Atomics enlists PSI to validate reactor technology : New Nuclear". World Nuclear News. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Copenhagen-Atomics-enlists-PSI-to-validate-reactor. 
  9. ↑ "EIC funds thorium reactor". Nuclear Engineering International. 9 July 2025. https://www.neimagazine.com/news/eic-funds-thorium-reactor/. 
  10. ↑ "Türkiye taps Danish company to utilize vast thorium reserves for nuclear energy". 7 September 2026. https://www.turkiyetoday.com/business/turkiye-taps-danish-company-to-utilize-vast-thorium-reserves-for-nuclear-energy-3227626?s=1. 
  11. ↑ Why are the tests not taking place in 2026 as originally planned?, 2026, Quarter 2
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Alhassan, Omar (21 September 2026). "As global power demand surges, Copenhagen Atomics bets on a different model for nuclear power". MSN. https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/as-global-power-demand-surges-copenhagen-atomics-bets-on-a-different-model-for-nuclear-power/ar-AA2cFPCl. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Proving MSR reliability". Nuclear Engineering International. 21 May 2026. https://www.neimagazine.com/analysis/proving-msr-reliability/. 
  14. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Template:Cite AV media
  16. ↑ "Copenhagen Atomics reaches pump testing milestone". 10 February 2026. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/copenhagen-atomics-reaches-pump-testing-milestone. 
  17. ↑ "Products". Copenhagen Atomics. https://www.copenhagenatomics.com/products/. Retrieved on 22 December 2019. 
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