Nuclear-powered container ships could be moving cargo in and out of Europe by the end of the decade. Danish company Maersk moves twelve million containers a year. It has partnered with Lloyd’s Register and nuclear technology start-up Core Power to study the regulatory feasibility of using fourth-generation nuclear reactors to supply power to container ships. Negative public perception and waste management continue to be a challenge for the nuclear industry. The study will investigate how to improve regulation and safety rules for its use.
     Ole Graa Jakobsen is Maersk’s head of fleet technology. He said, “Nuclear power holds a number of challenges related to for example safety, waste management, and regulatory acceptance across regions. If these challenges can be addressed by development of the new so-called fourth-generation reactor designs, nuclear power could potentially mature into another possible decarbonization pathway for the logistics industry 10 to 15 years in the future.”
     Large maritime vessels run on bunker fuel which is a tar-like substance that belongs to a large family of petroleum-based fuel oils. The maritime transport industry is responsible for three percent of global total carbon emissions. Production has increased by twenty percent over the last decade. A U.N. Trade and Development report said that it would cost up to twenty-eight billion dollars annually to decarbonize the world’s fleet by 2050.
     Maersk has set the ambitious goal of reaching net zero by 2040. It is investing heavily in green methanol to decarbonize. Its joint study with Core Power and Lloyd’s Register into nuclear power may open up the possibility of a multi-fuel pathway.
     Lloyd’s Register released a report last month on the use of nuclear power as an alternative low carbon maritime fuel. It highlighted how nuclear power could provide a cost-effective solution for the maritime industry because nuclear vessels would not need to be refueled as often as bunker-using container vessels. They consume around sixty-three thousand gallons of fuel per day and need to refuel every few months.
     Nuclear power has been used for many military vessels, with naval reactors, widely used in the US military, typically needing to be refueled every ten years. Newer reactor models have been designed to last up to fifty years in aircraft carriers and submarines. This allows them to travel distances of more than ninety-three million miles.
     Though nuclear power has been successful in the military, progress in the maritime industry has been slow because of cost restraints and safety concerns around ships entering ports.
     Lloyd’s also says that the designs for nuclear reactors currently under consideration for the maritime industry include molten salt reactors (MSR) and micro-reactors which have passive safety features in place to prevent nuclear accidents. Newer reactors contain cooling systems do not depend on emergency generators or pumps. This makes them “walk away safe” in the event of a malfunction.
     Tighter regulation is required on how to dispose of large volumes of radioactive waste more efficiently. The report maintains that fourth-generation reactors will have the capacity to reduce the amount of low-level waste produced, which accounts for ninety percent of nuclear waste.
     The International Chamber of Shipping 2022-2023 survey of more than 130 maritime executives reported that nine percent anticipate nuclear power will find commercial use in the next decade.
     The joint study involving Maersk will mainly look to provide evidence for regulatory changes in safety and operation around nuclear power. These changes will improve the understanding of how nuclear power works for members of the maritime supply chain who will be affected by its use. The end goal of the study is to create a framework for the construction of a nuclear-powered container ship to be used in a European port.
     Mikal Bøe is the CEO of Core Power. He said that he expects first orders for reactor-equipped vessels to come in by around 2028-29, and hopes to build a ten-billion-dollar order book by 2030.