Bluecore Energy, Long Beach, Calif., has delivered its first barge to the Port of Long Beach, Calif., where the company is developing a 10-MWe small modular nuclear reactor system designed for installation on floating power barges.
The company announced on July 21 that it is developing water-cooled reactors initially intended to provide shoreside electricity for ports and other infrastructure. Bluecore said it eventually plans to apply the technology to commercial vessel propulsion.
The company said it has delivered an electric test reactor to its headquarters at the port and is testing components as it works through engineering, regulatory and classification requirements.
Bluecore's initial 10-MWe system is designed to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 15,000 homes. The company said individual reactor units could be combined to provide additional generating capacity and would be fueled for several years of operation.
“My team and I took nuclear reactor technology that’s been running power plants safely for seventy years, made it smaller, and put it on a barge. A power plant that floats,” said Kofi Asante, Bluecore's founder and CEO.
The Port of Long Beach expects its electricity requirements to increase as it works toward electrifying cargo-handling equipment and other port operations.
While Bluecore's first application is shoreside power generation, the company said it sees the technology as a potential platform for nuclear-powered commercial vessels.
“Nuclear energy at sea is not a new idea,” said Asante. “Our opportunity is to take lessons from decades of maritime nuclear experience and combine them with modern engineering to build systems for a new generation of commercial applications.”
The reactor is being designed with multiple physical barriers between the nuclear fuel and the environment, multiple shutdown systems, passive safety features and water-based cooling, according to Bluecore.
“The world is entering a new era of energy demand,” said Asante. “Ports, industry, data centers, and critical infrastructure need more reliable power than ever before. We founded BLUECORE ENERGY because we believe there is a better way to deliver it — one that builds on established nuclear engineering principles and brings energy directly to where it is needed.”
Bluecore has raised approximately $10 million to support development of the system and its commercialization. The financing round was led by Slauson & Co., with participation from Harlem Capital, Precursor Ventures, LMNT, Visible Hands VC, Karman Ventures, Capital Factory, Share VC, X&, Markham Ventures and Hartbeat Ventures, among other investors.
