Can you imagine owning a vehicle that never needs refueling? That could be the case if you have the Thorium car that can run for 100 years.

That would be some investment wouldn’t it! But is this feasible? One company claims it’s not only possible but in development. Apparently, a car powered by thorium would never need to be refueled, as the vehicle would burn out long before the actual chemical it runs on. And it’s not science fiction according to a company called Laser Power Systems, who say they’ve already created a concept for a thorium-powered car engine.

Radioactive Element

Thorium is a radioactive element and one of the densest materials on earth. The use of thorium as a new primary energy source has been explored for quite some time. It can produce about 90 times as much energy as uranium and a fraction of the waste.

1 million miles on just 8 grams of fuel?

Laser Power Systems claim they’ve discovered that the concept car can run for 100 years (covering 1 million miles) on just 8 grams of fuel. The company explains that because thorium is so dense it has the potential to produce tremendous amounts of heat, and say they’ve been experimenting with small bits of thorium creating a laser that heats water, produces steam, and powers a mini turbine. Just 1 gram of the substance yields more energy than 7,396 gallons of gasoline!

Cheap power for buildings

Reports about the possibility of developing a thorium-powered car have been doing the rounds for many years now. However, Dr, Charles Stevens, CEO of Laser Power Systems has claimed thorium engines will not be used in cars anytime soon as automakers don’t want to buy them. Apparently, the technology is being developed instead to provide cheap power to office buildings, homes, restaurants, and even small towns.

Is it a Hoax?

Many journalists and scientists have questioned the claims of Laser Power Systems and what sounds like a story that’s too good to be true. Critics have challenged the science saying thorium energy technology cannot be used to power a car in this way. And the credibility of the company itself has also been questioned. One writer even claims that Stevens merely took over an art project created by an artist who designed the World Thorium Fuel Cadillac in 2008 for the 100thanniversary of Cadillac. So maybe the car that never needs refueling is just science fiction after all –for now at least!