Thorium Market Analysis 2020-2027:

Thorium, a natural-occurring, radioactive metal discovered by the Swedish chemist in 1828, is found in small amounts in rocks and soils. Monazite is a mineral, which is a common source of thorium. It is an electropositive and highly reactive metal. It is used to manufacture lenses for cameras, and is also used in nuclear reactors, alloying elements or to coat tungsten wire in electrical equipment and radiometric dating. Basically, pure thorium is a silver white metal, which retains its luster for many months. Thorium oxide has high thermal conductivity, low thermal expansion, and high melting point. Thorium is found in the earth’s crust, being an untapped energy source for nuclear power. Thorium energy is clean, scalable, affordable, and proliferation resistant. Currently, thorium fuel is used in several reactor types, heavy water reactors (HWR), high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and boiling water reactors (BWR). 

Market scope and structure analysis:

COVID-19 impact:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges on the global economy.
• The thorium market conditions are undergoing several changes in dealing with the demand and supply conditions due to the pandemic.
• The widespread pandemic has made it challenging for market players to respond globally.

Top impacting factors: Market scenario analysis, trends, drivers, and impact analysis:

Thorium is available in abundance, and is radioactive in nature. It is increasingly used in aerospace, refractory material manufacturing, electronic equipment coating, camera lenses manufacturing, and others.

High demand for thorium from these industries leads to the thorium market growth. In addition, thorium is used as a substitute for uranium. Rise in demand for uranium and its easy availability are expected to contribute to the thorium market growth. Thorium is available 3 times more than uranium.   

The nuclear reactor application segment drives the majority market growth

Currently, most of the nuclear reactors run on uranium-based fuel. However, thorium fuels can breed fissile uranium-233 to be used in various kinds of nuclear reactors. As thorium is not itself fissile, it is not directly usable in a thermal neutron reactor. However, it is ‘fertile’ and upon absorbing a neutron, it transmutes to uranium-233, which is an excellent fissile fuel material. 

Market restraint

The radioactive nature of thorium hampers health and the environment. Environment release of thorium waste negatively affects the flora and fauna of the ecosystem. Moreover, improper waste disposal pertaining to thorium effluent hinders the market growth.

Regional outlook

The U.S. and European countries are expected to be the most promising thorium market over the forecast period. India, Brazil, Australia, the U.S., Egypt, and others have large thorium reservoirs from which world-class metals are extracted. Therefore, they have a major market share over the forecast period. Furthermore, development of energy projects of thorium in countries, such as Indonesia and Chile, was organized and proposed by Thorium Power Canada.

Key segments covered:

Key benefits of the report:

• This study presents the analytical depiction of the thorium market along with the current trends and future estimations to determine the imminent investment pockets.
• The report presents information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities along with detailed analysis of the thorium market share.
• The current market is quantitatively analyzed from 2020 to 2027 to highlight the thorium market growth scenario.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of buyers & suppliers in the market. 
• The report provides a detailed analysis based on competitive intensity and how the competition will take shape in coming years. 

Questions answered in the thorium market research report:

• Which are the leading market players active in the market?
• What are the current trends that will influence the market in the next few years?
• What are the driving factors, restraints, and opportunities of the market?
• What are the projections for the future that would help in taking further strategic step?