The Akademik Lomonosov, a floating nuclear thermal power plant, sitting within the port of Murmansk, August 2019. The vessel highlights Russia’s lead in floating nuclear power plants as the United States begins exploring similar concepts for military and civilian applications. (Wikimedia Commons/Elena Dider)

How the Future of Military Energy Could Lead to Floating Nuclear Power Plants

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Floating nuclear power plants could give the United States a new tool for military resilience while challenging Russia’s nuclear export advantage.

A piece in The National Interest (TNI) recently described plans from the US Navy to test nuclear-powered aircraft carriers at Naval Station Norfolk for emergency grid support. During said demonstrations, the reactors aboard the Gerald R. Ford-class carrier will power onboard turbines, which in turn generate electricity that is transmitted to substations connected to the shore grid. 

This concept is not as extraordinary as it may seem—the concept of utilizing floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs) for defense and/or disaster response has already been examined. Additionally, the use of (former) military vessels as nuclear power stations was utilized with the MH-1A reactor deployment to power the grid at the Panama Canal in the 1960s, albeit the MH-1A was built into the USS Sturgis, which was retrofitted to be towed and subsequently stationary at the........

© The National Interest