The Marine Nuclear Propulsion System (MarNuPS) Pilot project has secured NOK 20 million (USD 2m) in initial funding from the Research Council of Norway as partners prepare to move maritime nuclear propulsion from system development towards physical integration and testing.

Led by Emerald Nuclear Norway, MarNuPS brings together VARD Group, Vard Electro, Island Offshore, NTNU, Imperial College London and Maskindynamikk in a consortium spanning reactor technology, ship design and integration, vessel operations, automation and academic research.

The Research Council support comes in addition to substantial self-financing by the project partners. Stage 1 of the programme alone has an estimated total cost of around NOK 150m (USD 15.6m).

VALIDATION AND MOMENTUM
“This award is evidence of validation and momentum rather than the scale of the ambition,” said Hallgeir Juliebø, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Emerald Nuclear and Chairman of Emerald Nuclear Norway.

"The partners are already making a substantial commitment to MarNuPS, and this support gives the programme additional backing as we move from design and analysis towards building and testing a complete integrated system. It's only the beginning of a longer development and qualification process, but it demonstrates that maritime nuclear propulsion is now being pursued as a serious industrial project.”

The MarNuPS Pilot will integrate Emerald Nuclear’s 5 MWe Gem Microreactor technology with energy storage, power conversion, vessel power management, automation and bridge control systems.

INTEGRATED TEST FACILITY
Stage 1, planned for 2027, will establish an integrated test facility at Stette outside Ålesund. A full-scale representation of the shipboard propulsion system will be assembled and tested using electric heating instead of nuclear fuel, allowing the partners to study how the different systems perform together under conditions representative of vessel operations.

Testing will cover normal operation, rapid changes in power demand, transient and stress conditions, system performance and crew interaction.

Island Offshore plans to be the first shipowner to install the reactor and energy system, with vessel deployment targeted for 2031/32.

“Nuclear energy has the potential to provide a new route to decarbonising offshore vessels without compromising the power, endurance and operational flexibility these ships require,” said Tommy Walaunet, CEO of Island Offshore.

“Our role is to ensure that the system is developed around real offshore operations and the people who will ultimately use it. Our ambition is to be the first shipowner to install the system and demonstrate its potential in practice.”

COMPLEMENTARY EXPERTISE
The partners bring complementary expertise: Emerald Nuclear in reactor technology and nuclear integration; VARD Group in ship design and integration; Vard Electro in power management and automation; Island Offshore in vessel operations and crew input; NTNU in nuclear and thermo-hydraulic modelling; Imperial College London in structural integrity; and Maskindynamikk in instrumentation, diagnostics and condition monitoring.

MarNuPS builds on several years of Norwegian research into maritime nuclear propulsion, including the NTNU-led NuProShip programme, in which Emerald Nuclear is also a partner. It is also an important element in the demonstration project tied to SFI SAINT – Sustainable, Applied and Industrialized Nuclear Technology, the national research centre that has received NOK 96 million from the Research Council alongside around NOK 200 million in industry contributions. Emerald Nuclear is a Tier 1 SAINT member.

Together, these programmes are moving Norway’s maritime nuclear effort from research and feasibility towards industrialisation, testing and eventual vessel deployment.

About Emerald Nuclear Norway

• Emerald Nuclear Norway AS is a maritime nuclear energy company focused on the industrialisation and commercialisation of maritime nuclear power in Norway.
• It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emerald Nuclear Inc., headquartered in Seattle, and leads market development, engineering, testing and commercialisation of the company’s maritime nuclear energy systems.
• The company is based at the Norwegian Maritime Competence Center in Ålesund, within the world-class Sunnmøre maritime cluster of shipowners, designers, yards, equipment manufacturers, systems integrators and research institutions.
• Emerald Nuclear’s Gem Microreactor is a compact nuclear reactor designed for ships and floating remote-power applications. The company’s business model is based on leasing: Emerald Nuclear retains ownership and operation of the reactor and responsibility for the fuel cycle, while shipowners purchase the power at a predictable cost.
• The company aims to enable the first nuclear-powered offshore demonstration vessel on the Norwegian Continental Shelf by 2031.

About Island Offshore

• Island Offshore is an offshore service vessel owner and operator headquartered in Ulsteinvik, Norway, with an office in Portugal.
•  Owned by the Ulstein and Chouest families, Its fleet of 18 vessels serves the oil and gas and offshore wind industries, carrying out light well intervention, subsea construction, inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR), walk-to-work, anchor handling and platform supply services.
• Since 2004, the company has taken delivery of more than 50 newbuilds, developed with Norwegian shipyards and suppliers.
• Island Offshore aims to be in the vanguard of decarbonisation in its sector, adding hybrid-powered construction vessels to the fleet and working with industry partners to develop nuclear-powered vessel designs. It works in long-term partnership with customers, with safety and integrity at the core of its operations.