Transportable and Marine-Deployed Nuclear Power: Past, Present and Future

Abstract

Transportable and marine-deployed nuclear power is not new and has been around since the inception of the nuclear industry. Nuclear icebreakers and naval vessels have been in successful operation for decades. In 1967, the U.S. military launched the world’s first stationary-deployed floating nuclear power plant, the MH-1A (Sturgis), and land-based relocatable nuclear plant concepts were also successfully demonstrated. A number of countries also demonstrated the use of reactors in merchant shipping, including the U.S., Germany, Japan and Russia. However, commercialization did not proceed in the majority of cases because of socio-economic factors including the low cost and high availability of fossil fuels, and the effects of the Cold War.

Today, we face volatile fossil fuel markets, and an urgency to move toward more carbon-neutral energy sources and energy self-sufficiency. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)1 are being developed and deployed to address these factors. There are regions (both on-grid and off-grid) in Canada and around the world with acute energy needs that have challenging climatic and environmental conditions, as well as limited logistical access and infrastructure. These conditions impede deployment of energy projects that could improve the lives of millions. The use of a Transportable Nuclear Power Plant (TNPP) enables extending the reach of SMRs into these regions. Furthermore, TNPPs provide a solution to deploy nuclear energy in locations where site-constructed nuclear power plants are not technically or economically feasible. National efforts to develop and deploy marine-based TNPP technologies are underway in Russia, China and Korea. Though smaller, private efforts are also under development in other countries, such as in the U.S., they are highly focused on specific SMR technologies, limiting the market’s ability to choose the right reactor technology to suit their energy needs.

Prodigy Clean Energy is Canada’s first commercial developer of transportable civil structure solutions to support deployment of TNPPs in Canada and beyond. Prodigy’s products will enable deployment of land- and marine- based small SMRs, as well as grid-scale SMRs. The use of a prefabricated and transportable nuclear power plant civil structure can accelerate deployment, reduce costs, reduce environmental impacts, and simplify site preparation, and end-of-life decommissioning. All of this can be achieved while meeting Canada’s modern requirements for safety, security and non-proliferation.

This paper explores the evolution of TNPPs, Canada’s enabling regulatory framework, and outlines Prodigy’s path for the commercialization of its technologies.