iThEC is a Swiss non-profit association, formally created in Geneva in 2012 under Swiss civil law art. 60, promoting the development of thorium energy technologies—especially Accelerator-Driven Systems (ADS)—to transmute and reduce nuclear waste. It convenes international conferences and regular member gatherings in Geneva, Switzerland, to advance research, policy, and collaboration on thorium technologies.

iThEC

iThEC, the international Thorium Energy Committee, brings together physicists, engineers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to accelerate the development of thorium energy systems with a focus on ADS for nuclear-waste destruction. The association is non-profit, independent, science-driven, and oriented toward sustainable, eco-friendly energy solutions.

Activities

iThEC holds an annual General Assembly in Geneva and organizes informal open lunches—typically at CERN—to keep members updated and facilitate broad participation. It organized the international ThEC13 conference at CERN (27–31 October 2013), covering the thorium fuel cycle, ADS, and the destruction of nuclear waste, building on prior ThEC editions and fostering international collaboration. iThEC is currently starting a new cyle of conferences for the general public, in Geneva, the first of which will be given by Professor Brit Salbu, a thorium specialist from Norway, on September 17.

Focus on ADS

ADS—central to iThEC’s mission—are subcritical nuclear systems driven by a high-power proton accelerator. that can efficiently destroy transuranic elements (the main component of nuclear waste) and long-lived fission fragments, as envisaged in Carlo Rubbia’s Energy Amplifier concept. Technical studies from CERN-affiliated researchers describe the accelerator, spallation target, and fast-neutron subcritical core that underpin waste-transmutation performance in such systems. Broader analyses of accelerator-driven transmutation also examine liquid-lead coolant choices and neutron-energy spectrum effects relevant to transmutation rates and system design.

Membership and leadership

Membership is open to anyone willing to contribute—scientists, legal and finance professionals, politicians and interested citizens. The statutes and membership application are available via the association web page.

ThEC13, October 2013