Going nuclear
Agreement at the COP26 summit to increase the generation of clean energy could help lead the way to a nuclear revolution in shipping propulsion.
While it can be argued that COP26 was or was not a success, one clear truth about the world’s required strategy to combat climate change has been firmly asserted – nuclear power will have to be part of the solution.
Fortunately for shipping, it’s a realisation that has come just as the prospect of nuclear propulsion for non-naval vessels is looking more and more viable.
“There's a growing understanding that we can’t solve the climate crisis without nuclear energy,” explained Mikal Bøe, CEO of Core Power, a UK technology developer specialising in nuclear power for ocean transportation, which, as part of a consortium, recently secured major funding from the US Department of Energy to develop maritime nuclear Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs).
“The shift to nuclear propulsion will be as revolutionary as the sail-to-steam era because MSR technology can make ships faster and vastly more efficient.
Ships powered by advanced nuclear technology could also easily provide 100% clean electric power to the ports they call in – which would change shipping’s contract with the international community in a hugely positive way.”
The MSRs proposed by the consortium would be located deep within the vessel at a good distance from a shielding wall near the structure of the hull.
“Accidents at sea do happen but an MSR would be well protected, and in a catastrophic emergency would simply shut itself down,” says Bøe. “If the ship sinks, the MSR will remain in its protective box. The ship might sink 8,000m to the ocean floor, but even then, the MSR would not pollute the environment.”
Core Power and its consortium partners have been tasked by the US Department of Energy to have a viable proof-of-concept MSR ready by 2025.
China and Russia take the lead
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the development and construction of non-naval, nuclear-powered vessels is already well underway.
China has just given a green light to its state-run National Nuclear Corporation to build its first nuclear-powered icebreaker, while in Korea major shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has teamed up with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to develop MSRs for its future vessels.
Russia is currently sea-trialling the second in a series of five new icebreakers powered by twin 175 MW reactors delivering 60 MW at the propellers via twin turbine generators and three motors. Designed by the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation to ensure year-round navigation through the Northern Sea Route, the 173m (567ft) vessels will be able to break ice 2.8m (9ft) thick.
Looking further ahead, Rosatom has also now begun constructing what it claims will be the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaking vessels – a fleet of three 209m (685ft) nuclear-powered ships, due to enter service in 2027, which will plough through ice 4m (13ft) thick at an unrelenting 22 knots.
Cool concept
A variation of the Rosatom reactor design will also be used to create new floating power plants – a maritime solution similar to that proposed at this year’s IMarEST Annual Conference by Soon Heng Lim, president of the Society of Floating Solutions, who outlined how floating offshore nuclear power plants could be used around the world in the near future.
“A floating concrete barrier forming a 900m (3,000ft)-diameter lagoon would contain three 300-tonne SMRs (small modular reactors), each generating 300MW of electricity,” he explained, pointing out the benefits to nations with high-density populations and past nuclear plant meltdowns that lacked a sufficient supply of water to cool down compromised reactors in good time.
Watershed moment
Keen to keep up with developments, the UK has launched a consultation on proposed regulations that would enable UK-flagged vessels to use nuclear power and allow foreign nuclear-powered vessels to visit British ports.
“COP26 was a watershed moment for nuclear power,” insists Rosatom’s director general Alexey Likhachov. “The summit concluded the discussion on whether nuclear power should be an essential part of the global carbon-free energy mix – and the answer 'yes’ has been heard loud and clear.”
Dennis O’Neill is a freelance journalist specialising in maritime.