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Credit: EPA/FOCKE STRANGMANN

Maritime applications: Use cases and idly growing demand in these sectors . powered vessels are not subject to car-
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benefits Finally, floating nuclear plants may also bon taxes or emissions trading schemes,
Floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs) support offshore oil and gas platforms making them attractive from a compli-
are already in operation. Since 2019, by reducing emissions from fossil fuel ance standpoint .
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Russia’s first FNPP, the Akademik operations . 7
Lomonosov, has supplied electricity and Nuclear-powered commercial ships Economics and business models
heat to the remote Arctic city of Pevek⁴. also offer a range of operational and Although the initial capital cost of build-
New projects in the United States, South economic advantages. Because nuclear ing a nuclear-powered ship is significant,
Korea, and Europe aim to adapt small reactors operate most efficiently at near- long-term operational savings, primarily
modular reactors for marine deployment constant output, these ships can main- in fuel costs, can offset the investment,
on floating platforms. tain higher cruising speeds without particularly for ultra-large crude carriers
These installations provide a consistent significantly increasing fuel costs. For and container ships.
and emissions-free energy source suita- instance, a 15,000-TEU container vessel Financing aside, the successful deploy-
ble for various applications. For instance, using nuclear propulsion could complete ment of nuclear propulsion will depend
they can provide reliable shore power 15 to 17 voyages per year, compared to on new business models tailored to the
to shipyards and ports, which is an 10 to 12 with conventional LNG engines . unique requirements of nuclear energy.
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important consideration as EU regula- Moreover, by eliminating the need for One proposed solution is similar to the
tions will soon require ships at berth to large fuel tanks and internal combus- “power-by-the-hour” model used in avia-
connect to onshore electrical systems⁵. tion engines, nuclear-powered ships tion, where third-party certified operators
Additionally, they can supply both ther- can increase their cargo capacity; in the manage the nuclear propulsion system
mal and electrical energy for the produc- example above, up to 800 additional under long-term service contracts. These
tion of green fuels, including hydrogen, TEUs could be carried . Their autonomy operators would be responsible for licens-
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ammonia, and methanol. Their capacity is also notable: depending on the tech- ing, fuel management, maintenance, and
to power energy-intensive facilities such nology used, nuclear ships can operate compliance, thus allowing shipowners to
as data centres and desalination plants is for five to seven years – or even longer lease propulsion services without directly
particularly important in light of the rap- – without refuelling. Finally, nuclear- handling the nuclear systems.

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