Identifying Nuclear Cost Targets for Competitive Maritime Decarbonization

The shipping industry contributes to a substantial quantity of global carbon emissions. Reaching a “Net-Zero World” will ultimately require complete decarbonization of the existing fleet. Nuclear energy may provide a viable solution toward this end goal. To better understand the economic dynamics of leveraging nuclear energy to power maritime fleets, cost targets were identified in this study. Two use cases were considered: (1) nuclear energy is used to generate synthetic fuel (termed synfuel) which is intern use to power maritime propulsion, and (2) nuclear reactor are used directly for vessel propulsion. The study found that in both cases “realistic” nuclear reactor cost targets could be reached. However, option 2 was deemed to be much more competitive overall but with higher technical risks.