Bill Gates and the Nuclear Power Ship Project

Bill Gates and the Nuclear Power Ship Project

Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world, turned his attention to powering ships with nuclear power.

The Microsoft co-founder, who turned 65 last week, is also the chairman of TerraPower, a nuclear technology company that today announced a new project with Mikal Bøe's CORE POWER, the French nuclear specialist Orano and US utility company Southern Company. The four companies plan to develop atomic technology for a molten salt reactor (MSR) in the United States.

“We are thrilled to work with these distinguished partners in developing game-changing technology to help transportation and industry transition to a clean energy future” for its atomic-guided batteries, said Michal Bowie, CEO of London-based CORE Power, which has made headlines in recent months. for the marine market.

CORE POWER units are based on molten sea salt reactors (m-MSRs), a technology that uses thorium that dates back to the XNUMXs and is capable of powering the largest ships afloat today.

In the m-MSR atomic battery, the fuel is the coolant and the coolant is the fuel, so the coolant cannot be lost. Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element commonly found in India and is a substance that Gates TerraPower has studied closely recently.

Recognizing that this technology would not be cheap to install on ships, Bøe proposed a model for leasing his batteries, similar to those used for aircraft engines.

Bøe's invention of the atomic battery has been discussed a lot in the charging industry in recent months.

At a webinar in Singapore last week, Andreas Sohmen-Pao, President of BW Group, discussed the potential dramatic shifts in the market resulting from the widespread deployment of atomic energy in the merchant fleet.

“The change in the industry is going to be massive because you'll have ships going 50 percent faster because the fuel is basically free once the capital expenditure investment is paid up front and the tanks will be empty because you'll have cheap electricity all over the world without interruption.

“I think in 50 years molten salt reactors will be on par with the cycle in the shipping industry, and we will look back at the moment and ask why we have indulged in alternative pathways for greenhouse gas-free propulsion,” said Björn Hojgaard, chief executive officer of ships manager at Hong Kong Anglo Eastern. Thermal.”

“The reality is that the only viable technology that can deliver a robust combination of near-zero emissions, marine-level reliability, safety and a competitive economy, is atomic energy. “

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