ANS Annual Conference session focuses on maritime nuclear

At the American Nuclear Society's Annual Conference on June 1, an executive session covered the increasingly prominent subject of nuclear applications in the civilian maritime industry.

Panelists who presented during "Advancing Nuclear Powered Maritime Shipping" highlighted the fact that the commercial shipping industry, the nuclear industry, and government agencies are looking at nuclear power as a solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, 3 percent of which are attributed to commercial shipping.

Also discussed were coordination between nuclear regulators and maritime classification societies; the U.S.-U.K. memorandum of understanding on a nuclear-powered merchant ship corridor; the necessary technical, regulatory, and operational protocols for implementing nuclear power in shipping; and the role that ANS could play.

The session was moderated by Jonathan Stephens, director of civil maritime nuclear at BWX Technologies. The panelists were Savannah Fitzwater, program manager in the Office of Nuclear Energy in the Department of Energy; Meg Albrecht, senior engineer for nuclear and alternative fuels at Lloyd's Register and chair of the Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization (NEMO) maritime regulations working group; Scott Edwards, vice president of regulatory development at Core Power; Sanjay Mukhi, cofounder and chief commercial officer of Deployable Energy; and Xiaodong Sun, professor and interim chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan.

The discussion: Stephens opened with the shipping industry's goal of fully decarbonizing by 2050, with their only options of achieving this goal being nuclear power or hydrogen or ammonia that has been generated by emissions-free sources of energy. Nuclear, Stephens said, would be a more compact option than hydrogen or ammonia, offering superior resilience and faster speeds.

According to Savannah Fitzwater, most nuclear reactor types could be applicable to maritime purposes, with those designed for terrestrial uses also capable of being developed for maritime settings. The DOE is supporting maritime technology development through financial awards. "Each time we're able to advance the demonstration and deployment of advanced reactor designs terrestrially, it helps support potential further application for maritime and space settings," Fitzwater said.

She discussed the DOE's new Launch Pad framework for supporting advanced nuclear technology demonstrations, saying, "Launch Pad is generating a lot of interest and excitement in the industry, and I think it's going to be really key to helping advance the maritime work."

She also discussed DOE-NE's efforts to advance maritime nuclear strategy, including studies include on port feasibility (with a focus on where small advanced reactors would be most viable), reactor technology suitability, the pairing of floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs) with offshore oil and gas operations, and even a language guide for clarifying jargon across the maritime and nuclear industries.

Lloyd's Register is seeking to smooth the deployment of maritime nuclear power. Meg Albrecht explained the firm's role in helping ship owners understand the requirements of the International Maritime Organization as well as the various international ports. Lloyd's also performs delegated services on behalf of national authorities and provides technical advisory services regarding new technologies.

The three biggest issues Albrecht sees are economic feasibility, technological feasibility, and regulatory frameworks. She argued that cost structure needs to change in order for maritime nuclear to become economically feasible. "We're helping our clients work through what that might look like for them. There are a lot of unknowns in economics for nuclear right now."

Scott Edwards spoke primarily about International Atomic Energy Agency initiatives. He noted Russia's progress toward becoming a leader in maritime nuclear. With its fleet of nuclear icebreakers and an FNPP, as well as a next-generation floating nuclear plant in development, "they've got the hardware to back it up," he said.

Among the many IAEA initiatives that Edwards discussed was a soon-to-be published technical document on safety and security requirements for FNPPs. Later this month, the IAEA intends to launch an initiative on the assessment of nuclear propulsion and transportable nuclear power plants (TNPPs). This endeavor is especially notable, because the IAEA had previously avoided the issue of nuclear propulsion. He remarked, "This will be the first effort that I'm aware of where the IAEA is actually going and starting to do that."

Sanjay Mukhi said it was the company's focus on maritime nuclear drew him to Deployable Energy. "The thesis behind it was there was a great power requirement in offshore environments, and how can we make use of that and deploy, in a timely, efficient, fast, scalable manner."

Working toward the goal of "put[ing] reactors on ships, not build[ing] ships around reactors," he said, he talked about transporting Deployable Energy's Unity Nuclear Battery gas-cooled microreactor to Idaho National Laboratory. "What we're building here is based off of things utilizing the existing supply chain. So, 4.95-percent enriched uranium oxide fuel, helium coolant. We're not using any exotic materials or processes."

He also said that "shipyards really need to be transformed, not just upgraded" and that "a robust workforce chain" needs to be built out "to enable shipyards, vessels, and operations at sea."

Xiaodong Sun discussed work being done at the University of Michigan to develop "a preliminary assessment framework for maritime application, a maritime nuclear application, primarily focused on ship propulsion." He and his colleagues, he said, "try to apply the evaluation system or methodology that we are developing for certain terrestrial-based and advanced reactor designs, come up with recommendations as to how this reactor design might be modified, changed, improved for maritime applications."

Sun said they're approaching the work from six aspects: current advanced reactor technology and how it can be adapted for maritime applications; the integration and interfacing of this technology with marine propulsion systems and thermal management; safety and maintenance considerations; economics issues; environmental metrics; and regulatory and social metrics.

He added that universities play a crucial role in another consideration-workforce development-through such activities as "coursework, short courses, major course modules, research projects, assistantships, internships, co-op workshops, and case studies."