Kärnkraft inom kommersiell sjöfart

Abstract

Nuclear propulsion in shipping has many obstacles to overcome before it can be regarded as a feasible solution. There are many new applications with the small modular reactor SMR (Small Modular Reactor) coming into play recent years. The race to become the leading nation in this area has begun to unveil itself. Some of the nations competing are the USA, Russian federation, India, South Korea and China. The R&D in the area also includes a wider scope to include a new operational framework. In order for the nuclear propulsion to become reality in commercial shipping, an environmentally and operationally holistic solution needs to exist to please all parties. The operational application is regulated by licensing and international codes which need to be updated so they allow the modern nuclear shipping to exist. The shipping industry would benefit a great deal in the aspect of emissions and fuel economy if the SMR ships were to be introduced. In this study the key factors have been investigated in Literature and with expert interviews.