Nuclear powered cargo ships and floating power plants set to spark new atomic golden age

A new era for atomic energy is mounting, as Britain and the United States lay the groundwork for nuclear-powered cargo ships and floating nuclear power stations. This bold step, heralded by a recent technological partnership between Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump, could see the development of container vessels with onboard nuclear reactors. These ships, together with nuclear power plants stationed on barges, promise accelerated maritime journeys and dramatic reductions in carbon emissions for global shipping.

The strategy encompasses more than just the seas. Floating nuclear stations offer the flexibility to supply vast energy capacities to industrial facilities or crucial data centres, vital for the expansion of artificial intelligence and heavy manufacturing. Their appeal lies not only in rapid deployment but also in the ability to relocate them as demand shifts, all while potentially sidestepping lengthy planning processes.

Core Power, at the heart of this initiative, is pushing the boundaries by partnering with major industrial figures such as Hyundai and TerraPower. Their focus is on equipping cargo ships and barges with mini nuclear reactors, technology likely to be constructed in South Korea or Japan before being integrated in the United States. The aim: to deploy the first commercial floating power plants on American soil by the end of this decade.

Historically, nuclear propulsion has been largely restricted to the naval domain. Only a handful of experimental civilian vessels have existed, with the majority of operational nuclear ships today being submarines, aircraft carriers, and icebreakers managed by governments like those of Britain, France, the United States, Russia, India, and China. Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov is a rare example of a floating nuclear plant providing heat and power to remote Arctic regions.

Momentum behind this atomic resurgence has surged following the recent announcement from Downing Street and the White House, which paves the way for a bilateral nuclear maritime corridor. This framework will not only bolster energy security but may also facilitate the insurability and safe port access of nuclear-powered vessels. Markets have shown pent-up demand for such advancements, as highlighted by Core Power’s Mikal Bøe, now evidenced by visible investment flows and supply chain mobilisation.

Safety is an understandable focal point for the technology’s backers. The mini reactors, based on molten salt principles, are designed with multiple redundant layers of shielding, with the containment strategies compared to an onion’s layer structure. The prospect of catastrophic failure is minimised; in the event of malfunction or targeted attack, the molten salt solidifies, encapsulating the nuclear material and preventing leakage—even in the most severe scenarios.

In the coming years, as regulatory and insurance frameworks evolve, maritime trade and heavy industry could be transformed by floating atomic innovation. If successful, the Anglo-American atomic partnership may set a template for others, with international players from Norway to South Korea moving to embrace nuclear propulsion in commercial shipping.