The launch of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s ATLAS initiative in Washington, D.C. in August brought together industry and government leaders to focus on a question that is becoming increasingly important: what will it take to move maritime nuclear from growing interest to practical deployment?
CORE POWER CEO Mikal Bøe joined the launch discussion, which explored how the nuclear and maritime sectors can work together to address the practical requirements for deploying nuclear energy at sea. Speakers considered the conditions needed for deployment at scale, including regulation, economics, shipbuilding, infrastructure, public trust and international collaboration. The discussion also examined the role ATLAS could play in helping countries and industry work through these challenges collectively.
From emerging concept to developing market
The maritime nuclear landscape has shifted significantly in recent years. When CORE POWER began advocating for nuclear applications in maritime, there was no established market and nuclear was often considered separately from the other energy and propulsion technologies being explored by the shipping industry.
Part of the early challenge was therefore to demystify nuclear for the maritime sector and encourage it to be considered alongside other technologies, rather than as an isolated option. That conversation has now moved forward. Interest is growing across shipping, energy, ports, governments and the wider industrial base, and the foundations of a real maritime nuclear market are beginning to emerge.
The question is increasingly not whether the opportunity exists, but how the industry turns that momentum into deployment.
Building the ecosystem around the customer
Doing so will require more than the development of new reactor technologies. Successful deployment will depend on understanding the needs of shipping, energy and industrial customers, and then building the technologies, infrastructure and wider ecosystem required to meet them.
That ecosystem extends well beyond the reactor itself. It includes shipyards, ports, workforce development, finance, civil liability, quality assurance, nuclear standards and the infrastructure needed for refueling, maintenance and operation.
It will also require the nuclear and maritime supply chains to work together from the outset. These sectors have developed under different systems of regulation, assurance and oversight. Bringing them together will require consistently high standards across the entire lifecycle, from design and construction through to operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning.
At the center of this is trust. Quality, transparency and strong standards will be fundamental to building confidence among regulators, customers, governments and the public.
Creating an effective international framework
Maritime nuclear is inherently international, making clarity around the interaction between nuclear and maritime governance essential. Questions around licensing, flag states, safeguards, export controls and liability cannot be considered in isolation. They form part of a wider system that will need to work coherently if nuclear-powered vessels and floating nuclear power plants are to operate across borders.
Rather than creating new layers of complexity, the focus should be on establishing clear principles that connect existing nuclear and maritime frameworks. This is where initiatives such as ATLAS could play an important role.
Anchored in the principles already underpinning organizations such as the IAEA and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ATLAS can provide a forum for governments, regulators and industry to develop a more consistent approach to the practical issues surrounding deployment. A common set of principles could help countries address areas including licensing, safeguards and long-term international cooperation more efficiently, while supporting greater confidence for future investment and deployment.
Turning momentum into deployment
The launch of ATLAS reflects a wider shift in the maritime nuclear conversation. The industry is moving beyond establishing why nuclear could play a role in the future of shipping and energy, toward the practical work required to make that future possible.
That means developing markets, building supply chains, preparing ports and shipyards, establishing clear international frameworks and ensuring that customers have the confidence to invest. With governments, regulators, shipbuilders, nuclear developers and end users increasingly engaged, the opportunity now is to turn growing momentum into coordinated action.
ATLAS provides another platform through which that work can move forward, helping bring the nuclear and maritime sectors together around the practical foundations required for deployment.
