Exploring floating nuclear power Nuclear energy’s potential in the maritime domain is much more than a reactor on a ship. Instead, nuclear energy can link demand across the electricity, industrial and transportation sectors to optimise energy generation and support decarbonisation of shipping and industry. With advances in nuclear engineering and the development of many types of advanced nuclear reactors come opportunities to implement the technology floating nuclear power plant applications. In addition to net zero emission electricity created by
Top: Project 22220 nuclear icebreakers, like the first vessel in the series, Arktika, have two RITM 200 reactors each delivering 30 MW of shaft power Source: Rosatom
Above: Floating barge- mounted nuclear power plants like the Akademik Lomonosov could support the cold-ironing needs of berthed vessels with the provision of shoreside electrical power Source: Rosatom
Developing the systems that could power merchant
vessels, provide shore power and generate clean fuels, means bringing together players in marine and offshore design with builders of nuclear systems to fill knowledge gaps and exchange ideas. Both marine and offshore sectors represent high
potential demand, sharing as they do an increased focus on clean energy usage. The offshore market exhibits immediate demand due to the power requirement created by ports and other industrial users. The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) is playing a
leading role in helping government and industry. The industry’s first comprehensive rules for floating nuclear power plants were recently unveiled at a forum for nuclear industry leaders held jointly by ABS and Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The ABS Requirements for Nuclear Power Systems for Marine and Offshore Applications, provides the first classification notation for nuclear power service assets such as floating nuclear power plants or nuclear- powered floating production, offloading and storage units. Uniquely, the requirements are agnostic to specific reactor technologies technology and propose a framework for nuclear regulators to collaborate with Flag administrations and ABS for complete regulatory oversight and license. This is one example of how ABS is helping industry work
towards the adoption of advanced nuclear technology in commercial maritime, including key research with the US Department of Energy and multiple New Technology Qualification and Approval-in-Principal projects. The same event, for example, also saw publication of a detailed study from ABS and Herbert Engineering Corporation (HEC) modelling the design, operation and emissions of a floating nuclear power plant.
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a small modular plant, the power barge concept could be extended towards production of alternative fuels such as pink hydrogen and pink ammonia for consumption by onshore and offshore facilities. In the joint study by ABS and HEC reported at the INL event, a floating platform named Navigator was designed with supply to the shore grid in mind to increase the available power to support maritime decarbonisation in port. This study reviewed existing ports fitted with onshore power supply in the US and the typical energy consumption from large ships such as cruise vessels. With these parameters in mind, a platform supplying a maximum of 70 MWe to the port’s electric grid was considered sufficient to meet the need of up to six visiting cruise ships at once. Also known as ‘cold-ironing’ this term encompasses the provision of shoreside electrical power to docked ships while their engines are turned off. The ability to deliver the floating platform to its site location and connect to the local grid from the pier can also ease many portside challenges of increasing available power for port operations. To conceptualise the possible design, the design team
invited a reputable small reactor designer to provide information regarding the use of their reactor design for the Floating Nuclear Power Plant. This reactor design has been supported by the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (DOE ARDP) to demonstrate the commercial viability of small modular reactors (SMRs). The modular reactor philosophy can successfully be
carried over to the floating platform design with significant advantages in terms of safety and cost. Furthermore, the modularity concept allows the power output to be reasonably flexible to adapt to the needs of large ports and their berthed vessels. Refuelling cycles of approximately five years allow the design to be compact and simple, with
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