Norway’s Second Energy Story

From oil to atoms:

Thorium could be Norway’s next great energy adventure—cleaner, safer, and just as transformative as oil once was. The world won’t wait.

Norway’s wealth and global reputation were built on daring to harness offshore oil when others thought it impossible. Today, a new opportunity lies beneath our feet. Thorium—abundant, safe, and cleaner than traditional nuclear fuel—could power the next chapter of energy history. Nations like China and India are moving quickly. Norway still has the chance to act, but hesitation may cost us the future.

The Reality of the Energy Crisis
We are entering one of the greatest challenges of our time: how to power the future without breaking the planet.

The pace of electrification is staggering. Cars, ships, planes, industries, even entire cities are shifting from fossil fuels to electricity. At the same time, the hunger for digital power is exploding. Artificial intelligence, automation, and global data networks already consume vast amounts of energy—and this is only the beginning. Within just a few years, the world’s electricity demand will outpace what today’s energy systems can deliver.

We already see the cracks forming. High electricity prices are straining households and businesses. Power grids in many regions are unstable. Countries that once took energy security for granted now face shortages. The trend is clear: without new solutions, the energy crisis will deepen, and the consequences will be global.

This is not a distant threat. It is happening now. The question is whether we dare to develop the technologies that can meet the challenge—or whether we let the future slip away to those who do.

Norway: An Energy Nation Standing Still
Norway is no stranger to energy. For decades, oil, gas, and hydropower have shaped our economy and built one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. We are wealthy, resourceful, and known for long-term thinking. On paper, we should be at the forefront of the next great energy revolution.

But while other nations are racing ahead, Norway has chosen to watch from the sidelines. China is building thorium reactors designed to clean up nuclear waste. Russia is rolling out small, safe reactors for extreme conditions. Argentina is testing modular designs that cannot melt down. India is preparing for commercial thorium power within the next two decades. Meanwhile, Norway has done little more than publish reports, hold debates, and then put the idea back on the shelf.

It wasn’t always this way. In the 2000s, a government commission concluded that thorium had enormous potential and urged more research. Yet nothing followed. Norway once had world-class research reactors in Halden and at Kjeller, even experimenting with thorium fuel. Instead of building on that legacy, the facilities were shut down, the expertise dissolved, and decades of knowledge faded into history. While others invested billions to push the technology forward, Norway turned away from its head start.

The irony is sharp: a nation that calls itself an “energy leader” has refused to lead where it matters most.

What Thorium Power Really Is
Most nuclear plants today run on uranium. It works, but it comes with baggage: long-lived radioactive waste, the constant fear of meltdowns, and the shadow of weapons proliferation. Thorium, however, offers a different path.

Thorium is more abundant than uranium, safer to handle, and far less suited for weapons. When used in molten-salt reactors—a technology first tested in the 1960s but never pursued—it changes the rules entirely.

A thorium reactor doesn’t operate with solid fuel rods that can overheat. Instead, the fuel is already liquid, dissolved in molten salt. If something goes wrong—say, a power outage—the liquid fuel drains into a separate tank and the reaction stops on its own. No human intervention. No pumps. No catastrophic meltdown.

The waste is also different. Uranium waste remains deadly for tens of thousands of years. Most thorium waste decays within three centuries. Still dangerous, but manageable within the span of human history. And in some designs, thorium reactors can even burn existing nuclear waste, reducing one of the world’s greatest environmental headaches.

For countries struggling with energy poverty, thorium’s potential is transformative: clean, stable, carbon-free electricity, without the risks that have haunted nuclear power since the Cold War. And for nations worried about proliferation, thorium is a fuel that closes doors to weapons rather than opening them.

In short: thorium is not just another fuel. It is a chance to reimagine nuclear energy from the ground up.

The Global Race
The race for next-generation nuclear power has already begun. No country has fully commercialized thorium yet, but several are moving fast.

China is leading the charge. In 2021, it tested its first experimental thorium molten-salt reactor in the Gobi Desert. The project is small, but its purpose is huge: gather data, refine the design, and then scale it into reactors capable of powering entire cities. China is betting that thorium could give it a decisive edge in the global energy market.

India, home to some of the world’s largest thorium reserves, has built its energy strategy around the fuel for decades. Its plan unfolds in phases, with the final stage focused squarely on thorium reactors. Officials speak openly of commercial thorium power by the 2030s or 2040s—a goal that could make India the first country to deploy thorium on a national scale.

The United States does not have a state-driven thorium program, but private startups are stepping in. Companies like Flibe Energy and Copenhagen Atomics are designing advanced molten-salt reactors aimed at commercial use. While Washington debates, entrepreneurs are pushing forward, backed by venture capital and a growing sense that thorium’s time has come.

Even smaller players are experimenting. Argentina has tested modular designs. Russia is developing reactors for remote and extreme environments. Across Europe, research projects are quietly advancing.

The picture is clear: the world is not waiting. Every year that passes, more nations put money, talent, and ambition into thorium. The finish line is still ahead—but those who hesitate will end up buying the technology instead of selling it.

What Norway Could Have Done – and Still Can
Norway is not short on money. Our sovereign wealth fund—built on oil and gas revenues—is worth over 1.5 trillion USD, the largest of its kind in the world. With resources like that, Norway could have built an entire thorium industry without even noticing the cost.

Imagine if we had acted fifteen years ago. In 2010, the fund was worth around 500 billion USD. Just one percent of that—five billion—could have financed a full-scale thorium program. Enough to fund research into advanced materials, build pilot plants, and develop a working commercial reactor. Today, Norway could have been a leader, exporting technology instead of importing it.

Instead, we hesitated. Reports were written, debates were held, and nothing followed. Other countries moved. We stood still.

The tragedy is that the opportunity was not only financial. Norway has one of the world’s largest thorium deposits, in the Fen complex of Telemark. It also holds Europe’s richest reserves of rare earth elements—the critical minerals that power electric vehicles, wind turbines, and smartphones. Extracting thorium alongside rare earths could have made Norway a central supplier for the technologies of the future.

And there is history, too. We once had research reactors at Halden and Kjeller, where thorium fuel was tested decades ago. We had the expertise. We had the infrastructure. We had a head start. Then we shut it all down, dismantled the programs, and let the knowledge fade away. While China and India poured billions into thorium, Norway abandoned its lead.

But the race is not over. No country has yet commercialized thorium. The window is closing, but not closed. Norway still has the chance to invest, to build partnerships, and to reclaim a role in shaping the future of nuclear power.

The question is not whether thorium will play a part in tomorrow’s energy mix—it is who will own the technology when it does.

Technological Breakthroughs Changing the Game
One reason thorium reactors never left the drawing board in the past was simple: the technology of the 1960s could not solve every challenge. Materials cracked under extreme heat. Designs were too expensive to build. And the Cold War favored uranium because it produced plutonium for weapons.

But the world is different now.

Artificial intelligence and advanced simulations allow engineers to test thousands of reactor designs in digital space before a single component is built. What once required decades of trial and error can now be modeled in months. Materials science has also leapt forward: new alloys and ceramics are being developed that can withstand the blistering temperatures and corrosive salts inside molten-salt reactors.

Then there are modular designs. Small modular reactors (SMRs) are nuclear power plants built like Lego blocks—factory-produced, transportable, and scalable. Instead of billion-dollar mega-projects that take decades to finish, SMRs can be deployed faster, cheaper, and safer. Combine SMRs with thorium, and you get a technology that can power cities, industries, or remote regions with clean, stable energy.

These advances have transformed thorium from a dream deferred into a realistic option. What was once considered too risky or too costly is now within reach. The science is ready. The tools are ready. What remains is the decision to act.

Norway’s Unique Opportunity Today
Norway is in a rare position. Few countries on earth combine vast natural resources, financial strength, and a history of nuclear research the way we do. That combination could make us a key player in the next wave of energy innovation—if we choose to use it.

We have the thorium. Geological surveys estimate that the Fen complex alone contains enough to power the country for centuries, with plenty left to export. We have the money. A sovereign wealth fund of more than 1.5 trillion USD could easily finance research, pilot projects, and commercial deployment without risking our future prosperity. And we have the legacy. Halden and Kjeller may be closed, but the experience they represent is proof that Norway once stood at the forefront of nuclear research.

The parallels to our oil adventure are striking. In the 1970s, Norway took a gamble on offshore drilling. It was risky, expensive, and few believed we could compete with the oil giants. But by combining political will, engineering talent, and long-term vision, we built a world-class industry that transformed our nation. Thorium offers the same kind of opportunity today.

The difference is urgency. The world will not wait another fifty years for Norway to make up its mind. Those who move first will set the standards, own the patents, and dominate the market. Those who hesitate will end up buying their energy future from others.

Norway can still lead. But the window is closing.

Beyond Norway: A Global Impact
The promise of thorium is bigger than any single country. This is not just about national pride or economic growth. It is about giving the world access to reliable, carbon-free power at a scale that can truly change lives.

Think of remote island nations in the Pacific that today rely on costly diesel shipments. Think of African regions where hospitals run on unstable grids or schools go dark when the sun sets. A safe, modular thorium reactor could bring clean electricity to places where traditional infrastructure has failed—or never existed at all.

The impact would not stop there. By exporting thorium technology, a country like Norway could help cut global emissions, reduce dependence on coal, and shrink the mountains of nuclear waste left behind by older reactors. Energy security would no longer belong only to superpowers with uranium stockpiles, but to any nation ready to build a safer future.

And the benefits would ripple outward. Mastery of thorium reactors demands breakthroughs in materials, engineering, and waste management—expertise that could spill over into other technologies, from advanced batteries to more durable solar panels. It is not just about power plants. It is about building knowledge that strengthens every part of the energy transition.

In short, thorium is not a narrow opportunity. It is a chance to shape a cleaner, fairer, and more resilient world. The only question is who will take the lead.

Conclusion: Willingness or Passivity
The energy crisis is not a distant possibility. It is already reshaping economies, straining societies, and forcing countries to make hard choices. Thorium is not science fiction—it is an available path forward, a technology with the potential to change how the world is powered.

The question is not whether nuclear power will be part of the future. It will. The question is who will shape it, who will own the technology, and who will reap the rewards.

Norway has everything it needs: resources buried in its soil, wealth stored in its sovereign fund, and a history of bold engineering achievements. Yet none of that matters without the will to act. Every year of hesitation widens the gap between us and those who are moving ahead.

We stand at the same kind of crossroads that once defined our oil era. Then, Norway chose courage. We built an industry against the odds, and it changed our country forever. The same chance is in front of us now.

Will we seize it—or let the future pass us by?