Page 35: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2026)

34 36

They may offer fuel-cycle and waste-management advantages but gener- ture quickly enough to support bankable projects.

ally require more advanced demonstration and licensing pathways

Overall, foating nuclear is worth attention. It may not 4 Use molten salt as coolant or, in some designs, as a fuel carrier. become a mass-market solution overnight – however, as

Low-pressure single-phase coolant systems eliminate the requirement for large containment structures, and their high operating temperatures the search intensifes for frm, clean, and fexible energy result in increased effciency and fuel cycle fexibility.

infrastructure, foating nuclear has the potential to become 5

Very small SMR systems with capacities below 10 MW, although some one of the most strategically important new segments in defnitions extend microreactor capacities up to 20 MW.

6 A multi-step objective analytical approach was conducted to assess offshore power.

the addressable market for foating power and, more specifcally, foating nuclear power. The analysis began with a dataset covering 252 countries

Sources and territories, with more than 12,000 data points scored and weighted 1. International Atomic Energy Agency to establish a broad, comparable foundation for identifying where foat- 2. Nuclear Threat Initiative ing power solutions might be relevant. It then narrowed to 208 countries 3. Offce of Industry and Competitiveness Analysis, and territories, including remote locations and coastal and island regions, U .S. International Trade Commission to identify the total addressable market for foating power based on the 4. Lovering, J.R., A. Yip, and T. Nordhaus. 2016. "Historical practical assumption that such solutions are most relevant where geogra- Construction Costs of Global Nuclear Power Reactors." phy creates constraints or opportunities for offshore deployment. Finally, Energy Policy 91: 371–382 the sample was refned to 128 countries and territories that possess a 5. Nuclear Engineering International suitable combination of population, energy market conditions, political 6. RBC Climate Action Institute framework, and economic framework to justify considering a FNPP solu- tion. The methodology incorporated a range of variables across six cate- 1

Closest to the existing commercial nuclear feet. These designs use gories: general country characteristics; energy demand drivers; electricity water as coolant and generally build on light-water reactor operating expe- market structure; constraining factors; economic and fnancial conditions; rience, which may support licensing, fuel supply, workforce training, and and geographical suitability. Indicators included population, urbanization investor confdence.

rate, freshwater resources, desalination capacity, energy production and 2 Use gas, typically helium, as coolant and are designed for high outlet consumption, fossil fuel reserves, installed generation capacity, electrif- temperatures (above 750 C). Relevant for electricity generation, industrial cation, CO2 emissions, climate targets, nuclear policy, political stability, heat, hydrogen production and cogeneration applications.

terrorism risk, poverty rate, GDP, GDP per capita, credit agency ratings, 3 Use fast neutrons and liquid metal coolants, such as sodium or lead. island status, and coastline characteristics.

Figure 4

Source: author’s analysis. Countries and territories in the upper-right quadrant achieved scores of at least 1.5 in both dimensions and therefore merit further study.

MAY/JUNE 2026 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 35