The mPower small modular reactor (SMR) is an integral pressurised light-water design with 195 MWe or 575 MWt capacity. The feasibility study “will cover baseline information exchange, systems engineering, concept of operations development, product requirements definition, regulatory pathway assessment, marine integration studies and techno-economic analysis”.
Floating nuclear power plants are designed to be built in shipyards and moved close to end users and areas of high demand. Core Power says that “by shifting construction into a controlled industrial environment, they offer the potential to cut delivery risk, improve repeatability and provide reliable power to places constrained by grid capacity, land availability or long civil planning or infrastructure timelines”.
The initial assessment is being funded by Core Power and is intended “to inform future decisions on engineering scope, regulatory engagement, commercial structure and potential next steps”.
Core Power CEO Mikal Bøe said: “This assessment of the mPower technology is a significant step in our strategy to accelerate the design of our fully modular floating nuclear power plants.
“Electric power demand is rapidly outstripping supply. Markets that need reliable electricity cannot wait for conventional infrastructure timelines. The United States has the nuclear expertise, the industrial base and the maritime heritage to lead this market. Core Power’s role is to combine those strengths and accelerate the path from technology to product.”
Speaking at the Accelerating Nuclear for Energy Generation and Shipping conference in London, he added that the aim was to present the floating nuclear power plant design “to our first customers – electric utilities, ports, industrial manufacturers, data centres and the military – for them to evaluate the design on specific sites and the infrastructure needs to connect to the grid on land, local permitting and operating and contract pricing models. All going well that leads to the contracting stage and a cemented position for Core Power as the first leading FNPP supplier in the OECD”.
He described it as an “Airbus industrial model” where key components are supplied by specialist manufacturers, and said Core Power would be “announcing a host of key partners in the coming months”. Work was already taking place on designing a training programme for future operators, he said, and US shipyard selection was being fast-tracked.
Land-based SMRs
Meanwhile, in a separate announcement on Wednesday, Applied Atomics announced it had entered a licensing agreement with BWX Technologies under which Applied Atomics “will have exclusive rights to use mPower in the commercial development and deployment of land-based nuclear facilities in the United States, Canada and elsewhere. BWXT retains ownership of the mPower IP and will hold exclusive manufacturing rights for all mPower components plus royalty rights for any components manufactured by Applied Atomics or other third parties”.
BWXT preserved the mPower engineering archive and test facilities following the programme’s 2017 suspension, Applied Atomics said, adding: “Under the terms of the agreement, Applied Atomics will re-engage the NRC (US Nuclear Regulatory Commission) to resume mPower design certification activities and develop site-specific engineering for initial commercial deployments. Applied Atomics will also contract with BWXT to provide technical support as the licensing process advances.”
