The Offshore Floating Nuclear Plant Concept

TLDR

A reliable global supply chain for light‑water reactors and floating platforms enables rapid nuclear expansion to meet near‑future climate goals. The paper presents an offshore floating nuclear plant concept that promises attractive economics and unprecedented safety. The design integrates light‑water reactors with oil‑and‑gas‑style floating platforms, built in a shipyard, then deployed 12 nautical miles offshore in ≥100 m water and connected to the grid by submarine cables, with crews living aboard in monthly or semimonthly shifts. The concept eliminates seismic and tsunami accident precursors, provides passive safety that removes the loss‑of‑ultimate‑heat‑sink risk, and offers a mobile, exportable reactor that avoids long‑term commitments and reduces the need for local nuclear infrastructure.

Abstract

AbstractA new offshore floating nuclear plant (OFNP) concept with high potential for attractive economics and an unprecedented level of safety is presented. OFNP creatively combines state-of-the-art light water reactors and floating platforms similar to those used in offshore oil/gas operations. A reliable and cost-effective global supply chain exists for both technologies; therefore, robust expansion in the use of nuclear energy becomes possible on a timescale consistent with combating climate change in the near future. OFNP is a plant that can be entirely built within a floating platform in a shipyard; transferred to the site, where it is anchored within 12 nautical miles (22 km) off the coast in relatively deep water (≥100 m); and connected to the grid via submarine transmission cables. OFNP eliminates earthquakes and tsunamis as accident precursors; its ocean-based passive safety systems eliminate the loss of ultimate heat sink accident by design. The OFNP crews operate in monthly or semimonthly shifts with onboard living quarters, like on oil/gas platforms. OFNP is a reactor for the global market: It can be constructed in one country and exported internationally; it lends itself to a flexible and mobile electricity generation approach, which minimizes the need for indigenous nuclear infrastructure in the host country; and it does not commit the customer to a 40- to 60-year-long project.