How to Proceed with the Thorium Reactor Technology: A Real Options Analysis

The advantage of a thorium nuclear reactor is that it is easier to stop or control the process, and it produces less long-lived nuclear waste than existing reactors. However, there are a number of technical challenges that need to be overcome, and the current costs of building a thorium reactor would be very high. We analyse how a government may proceed with a staged development of meeting the need for electricity as fossil fuel sources are being phased out.