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Proliferation in 2025, and is currently planning to than changing it with a new one after
Uranium-233 can be used to make scale up. The country has sufficient some years, probably during a scheduled
nuclear weapons. However, it is thorium to meet its energy needs for drydocking. By the way, “atomic battery”
extremely difficult to do so because approximately 20,000 years. may be a better name for the technol-
of its extremely high level of gamma ogy, rather than nuclear energy for ships,
radiation, which affects those handling Marine applications since the latter term is usually confused
it and makes it easily to detect. Few Thorium reactors can be made small with the standard second-generation
countries have attempted atomic det- (e.g., 10-30 MW) and modular, making nuclear energy that we use now.
onations using U-233, but all of them them suitable for powering ship engines. As far as cost is concerned, makers
have tried it once and abandoned fur- Some companies targeting this market currently seem to price their equipment
ther attempts due to the difficulty of are finalising their marine designs, while based on the lifetime cost of fuel saved.
handling the material. Thus, any pro- big shipbuilders, such as Hyundai and However, word from “insiders” suggests
liferation concerns (e.g., by regulators) Imabari, are investing in the technology. that the cost of the reactor is significantly
would be directed towards the makers The same companies are working on lower and can be drastically scaled down
of the reactors, rather than the potential floating but stationary MSRs to power in the future, especially in view of future
theft of the material by third parties (due ports, data centres (which require large competition. In all probability, such reac-
to their extreme radiation). amounts of electricity), and to produce tors for ship use will be leased from the
hydrogen from desalinated seawater for manufacturer, rather than being pur-
Current status further use in green fuels. chased together with the ship. This will
Several prototype reactors around the The IMO has already started discussions also facilitate maintenance and refuelling.
world are in the finalisation stages. It is on the subject. Some crew training will, Obviously, the possibility of having
expected that by 2030, the concept will of course, be required, mainly for the unlimited energy on board is exciting,
have been proven, and by 2035, if not peripheral equipment, and not for as it will allow for faster speeds. At the
earlier, it will be commercially available. the reactor itself, which will be totally same time, the nature and design of ships
China appears to be ahead, having suc- enclosed. In this respect, the reactor can themselves may change (think of an
cessfully operated a small experimen- be viewed as an “atomic battery” with autonomous ship or even a hovercraft
tal thorium reactor in the Gobi Desert no outside intervention required other that can also operate on land!).

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