Consortium explores floating nuclear plants in Mediterranean

A new consortium will study the feasibility of floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs) to meet the energy demands of islands, ports and coastal communities in the Mediterranean Sea.

Class society ABS will join with reactor technology developer CORE Power and Greece-based Athlos Energy in researching how FNPPs can potentially unlock a range of applications including the establishment of grid-scale electricity to remote locations, the delivery of energy to ports, and power desalination plants that could provide potable water to drought-affected coastal communities.

ABS chairman and chief executive Christopher Wiernecki said the use of small modular reactors on floating platforms could address efforts to curb global emissions and increase energy security. “Floating nuclear power facilities show promise in supporting power grids, microgrids, industrial and port operations and data centres, among others,” said Mr Wiernicki.

According to CORE Power chief executive, Mikal Bøe, “mass-assembled FNPPs” built in shipyards “can revolutionise the way we deliver reliable and affordable nuclear energy to provide vital carbon-free energy security to islands and coastal infrastructure in the Mediterranean”.

An advocate for constructing Greece’s first nuclear power plant, co-founder of Athlos Energy, Dionysios Chionis, said the study “marks an important first step in accessing the feasibility of deploying floating nuclear reactors in the Aegean Sea.”

FNPP concepts and potential locations will be developed, with Athens-based ABS Global Ship Systems Centre leading the study, with the object of publishing an open-access white paper for use by industry, policy makers and government.