"MSR thorium which operates at current ambient air pressure. "

Actually MSR thorium doesn't operate at ANY air pressure. There is no such thing as an MSR thorium plant. None currently exist.

ttbn. I cannot remember the last time I read anyone stating the extreme heretical concept that CO2 has little or nothing to do with climate temperatures (above 320ppm concentrations). I have searched and searched for scientific evidence (data) that ‘proves’ a doubling of current CO2 concentrations results in anything other than statistical irrelevancies. However, the benefits to the biota are a doubling of concentrations are well observed and documented.
Alan b.
Whilst the money to be extracted from the current paradigm is so huge, little (if any) money will be directed to the type of research (thorium) you identify. Bjorn Lomberg has advocated that at least a ‘portion’ of money’s be directed to ‘alternative’, even ‘blue sky’ projects. As it is, with all media, politics, academe, international business and ignorant interest groups are all blindly ‘banging the same drum’, You, Lomberg, and a scattering of others will be subject to the treatment of previous historical ‘heretics’. Good luck.

There was many years ago at White Sands a thorium reactor running as an
experimental project. The US went the uranium way because of the need of weapons.
I am sure Alan can give more on that.
The Indians had a Thorium project I believe.

Anyway to repeat myself because some here now might not have heard me
repeat the electric car is a great idea but our STUPID politicians
do not understand that the present course they have us on cannot
support electric cars.
However there is no choice except perhaps steam cars.
It is no accident that the car manufacturers are all changing to electric.
They took notice of what the oil companies have been saying;
The cost of finding new oil fields and developing them has become so
expensive that is no longer worth it in the longer term.
To burn oil for transport is too costly and will get even more so.
It is too valuable for other purposes.
A symptom of that is the stopgap of fracking.
Royal Dutch Shell as it was known until recently has made the most
deliberate moves. It has converted some Shell stations in the UK to
charging stations with multiple fast chargers.
They announced that all Shell stations world wide will have chargers.
The car manufacturers have got the message. Ampol garages will all
have chargers installed starting in 2023.

The car manufacturer have got the message, but the STUPID politicians
are not reading the tea leaves.

As an aside if anyone is interested and know where to collect the data
it would be possible to convert the daily sale of petrol and diesel
to KW/Hrs of equivalent daily demand on the grid.
As most would be an overnight charge, including trucks it would tell
us how many wind turbines would be devoted to the charging load.
As most people in Australia have driveway access to their home not
so many would use servo chargers as it is cheaper at home off peak.
That's a point, how long will we still have off peak ?
Any takers ?

"There was many years ago at White Sands a thorium reactor running as an
experimental project. The US went the uranium way because of the need of weapons."

The experimental reactor was at Oak Ridge. It ran between 1965 and 1969. It never generated any usable power - that wasn't its purpose. It was merely a proof of concept.

The reason to not proceed had nothing to do with weaponry. Thorium reactors can also be used to make nuclear bomb fuel. The reason it was closed is that it was decided that it wasn't as efficient as uranium.

The costs of decommissioning the plant were horrendous and extremely dangerous and was considered "the most technically challenging activity [undertaken by] the U.S. Department of Energy".

Indian has been promising to build a pilot thorium plant for over a decade. Its generated plenty of government subsidies but no power. China is promising to build one in 2024 but not expecting to have a full plant until at least 2035 at best. They've also been making promises on this for close on a decade eg the pilot plant was originally promised for 2020.

If the technology was a simple as suggested, why all the delays? I'd suggest many fall for the hype without checking the science.

As to the electric car mantra, its good to see that the peak oil hype survives. We've been told for a century that we're going to run out of oil soon. Like all such predictions, they are always wrong.

Oil will never run out ! Where did you hear that it would ?
No, it is becoming too expensive to use as a transport fuel.
It is too valuable except for producing chemicals for a multitude of purposes.
The oil companies have been mumbling for some years.
Read Twilight in the Desert that will tell you how long the Arabs have
been worrying about it.

Anyway, the car makers got the message.