ULSTEIN THOR – Replenishment, research, and rescue vessel powered by thorium molten salt reactor

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

Decarbonization is now taking place in shipping and more generally in marine operations. It is the most important challenge for the ocean industries and will require substantial investments – both on research, development, and implementation, in the years to come. To reach national and international carbon emission targets in shipping, we need to decarbonize fast, by alternative low carbon fuels and or by a carbon free energy source. Different ship types, their size and their typical operational patterns have already proven that no one given abatement solution fits all situations and applications. The energy density and availability of low-emission fuels (natural gas, methanol, hydrogen and ammonia) is critical and detrimental as it affects the vessel arrangement, size and payload. All alternatives to conventional carbon-based fuels require significantly larger and more voluminous tanks and arrangement. Less payload for any given vessel type, and or increased bunkering frequency in port or offshore. State-of-the-art knowledge about the nuclear reactor-based powering of ships indicates, however, that many of these restraining effects of the introduction of new fuels are not present in nuclear powering. On the other hand, there are many other safety, social acceptance, personnel training and skills development and technology maturity questions to be better understood and answered. Thorium-based molten salt reactors (MSR) can represent a competitive and effective energy source to achieve zero-emission operations in many shipping activities. This project will, therefore, focus on exploring the existing state-of-the-art knowledge, expertise, and experience about the conceptual application-feasibility of such molten-salt vessel powering technology and develop new knowledge on the implementation of MSR technology in a replenishment vessel. The project will focus on the implications of the MSR into the design, construction and operation of the vessel and its systems.