17 Jun 2025
The 24th INPRO Dialogue Forum, held in Vienna, focused on the deployment of floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs). The forum gathered 64 experts from 27 countries to discuss regulatory and other challenges to FNPP deployment. While ship-based nuclear power has existed since the 1950s, only one FNPP for civil electricity generation is currently operational. Interest in FNPPs is growing as countries seek clean energy solutions for sectors like maritime shipping, which significantly contributes to global oil use and carbon emissions.
Key points from the forum included the potential of maritime nuclear power to aid the clean energy transition, the need for cooperation between the maritime and nuclear sectors, and the importance of developing financing models for FNPPs. The event featured a virtual tour of Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov, the first commercial FNPP.
Recommendations for joint activities between the IAEA and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) were made, emphasizing the application of existing regulations to FNPPs and the role of FNPPs in accelerating the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs). The next INPRO Dialogue Forum will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2025.
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