A 7,000 CEU-class car carrier operated by Hyundai Glovis. CEU stands for the loading house of 1 normal passenger car. Credit: Hyundai Glovis
A home cargo ship idea design that makes use of a molten salt reactor (MSR), a next-generation small modular reactor (SMR), as its energy supply has been authorised. It is considered step one towards precise ship improvement.
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) introduced on the eighth that it has obtained approval in precept (AIP) from Lloyd’s Register (LR) for the idea design of an MSR-powered car carrier developed via a joint improvement undertaking (JDP) with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Hyundai Glovis, and G-Marine Service. The AIP award ceremony was held on the 2nd on the shipbuilding and maritime exhibition “Posidonia 2026” in Athens, Greece.
SMRs are next-generation reactors which have smaller output than standard giant nuclear energy vegetation however provide larger security and could be deployed extra flexibly when it comes to location.
Unlike present nuclear energy vegetation that use water as a reactor coolant, MSRs are SMRs that use molten salt, through which nuclear gas and coolant are combined, as a liquid nuclear gas. With their excellent security and power effectivity, they’re drawing consideration as next-generation marine engines. This is why Korean organizations have joined forces to develop a big car carrier powered by MSRs.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering carried out the ship idea design and overview of the important thing applied sciences. Hyundai Glovis, drawing on its expertise in working giant car carriers, proposed methods to replicate environmental components in actual working circumstances and to safe flexibility for secure operations.
G-Marine Service reviewed sensible operational necessities, together with onboard security, maintainability, crew help, and long-term operational reliability. As the nationwide nuclear know-how improvement establishment, KAERI was accountable for reviewing the MSR know-how.
Lloyd’s Register led the hazard identification and preliminary danger evaluation. It targeted on the compatibility between present ship programs and SMRs and on constraints associated to the applying of nuclear know-how at sea.
Last month, the federal government chosen the event of MSR-based SMR ships as one of many 12 key missions of “K-Moonshot,” an AI-driven science and know-how innovation undertaking. The taking part organizations plan to collectively discover methods to make sure the protection, operability, and regulatory compliance of nuclear-powered ships.
Cho Jin-young, head of the Advanced Reactor Technology Development Division at KAERI, mentioned, “This approval in principle confirms the feasibility of applying MSRs in the maritime sector, taking into account actual ship operating environments,” including, “We will continue related research and cooperation to verify and demonstrate the safety of marine nuclear technologies.”
From left: Kwon Chi-oh, CEO of G-Marine Service; Ryu Hong-ryeol, Executive Vice President of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries; Kim Tae-woo, Executive Vice President of Hyundai Glovis; Cho Jin-young, head of the Advanced Reactor Technology Development Division at KAERI; and Nick Brown, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lloyd’s Register. Credit: KAERI
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