Core Power wants to build floating nuclear power plants for the USA
Due to the growing demand for electricity, nuclear power is experiencing a renaissance. Core Power wants to anchor floating plants off the US coasts.
Artistic representation of a floating nuclear power plant
(Image: Core Power)
Nuclear power for the USA: the British company Core Power is developing floating nuclear power plants. They could be ready for use within the next decade.
Core Power calls its development the Floating Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP for short). It is to have a molten salt reactor with an output of 1.2 gigawatts.
The electricity is to be transported ashore by cable. As around 65 percent of economic activity takes place on the coast, long transmission routes are no longer necessary, says Core Power boss Mikal Bøe.
E-fuels production at sea
The company also envisages that floating plants for hydrogen production can be anchored near an FNPP. These are to be operated with the electricity and waste heat from the nuclear reactor and produce synthetic fuels on site, which are then shipped by tanker.
Molten Salt Reactors (MSR) are operated with thorium. Liquid salt is used as a coolant. Such an MSR is compact and simpler in design than a pressurized or boiling water reactor. A core meltdown should not be possible with this type of reactor.
More nuclear power plants are being built worldwide. Their proponents argue that they supply electricity without harmful emissions. However, projects are being delayed and are becoming significantly pricier than planned, such as the French reactor Flamanville 3.
Nuclear power plants in series production
According to Core Power, however, FNPPs should be significantly cheaper than nuclear power plants that are built on land: 80 percent of the construction costs are "non-nuclear", the company explained. This includes site preparation and construction work on site. FNPPs are to be manufactured in series at a central production facility and then towed to their destination.
The first floating nuclear power plant already exists: the Akademik Lomonosov of the Russian state energy company Rosatom. It was built in St. Petersburg and then towed to its destination in Siberia.
Core Power plans to accept orders from 2028. The first floating nuclear power plants should be ready for operation in the mid-2030s. Core Power is also planning to build nuclear-powered ships at a later date.
(wpl)