CORE POWER backs seven-year accelerated timeline. Image Credit: CORE POWER

• CORE POWER submits 38-page response to MARAD's small modular reactor RFI
• "Project Pathfinder" would put a US-flagged nuclear-powered commercial ship into regular service
• Company backs seven-year accelerated route over ten-year governance-first alternative
• First vessel contract should include options for at least two more ships, firm says

CORE POWER, a London-based developer of nuclear energy systems for maritime, has submitted its response to the US Maritime Administration's (MARAD) request for information on deploying small modular reactors in the marine transportation system, proposing a programme it calls Project Pathfinder.

The 38-page submission, filed on August 5, outlines what the company describes as a "time-limited federally supported and commercially led program to design, build and place into regular service a U.S.-flagged nuclear-powered commercial ship."

MARAD's May RFI set out two possible timelines, and CORE POWER recommends the seven-year accelerated route over the ten-year governance-first alternative, provided governance and engineering advance in parallel.

Speed should come from early decisions, a stable design, and pre-funded infrastructure, the company says, not from postponing questions of liability, emergency planning, fuel, workforce, or decommissioning.

The response identifies nine decisions needed to move from concept to deployment, including selecting a first commercial service and its ports within twelve months, with an initial international route between the US and a prepared partner country.

On reactor choice, the firm sees well-understood light-water technology as the leading near-term basis, with molten-salt and other advanced systems continuing through parallel evidence gates.

Notably, CORE POWER argues the first vessel contract should include firm or priced options for at least two additional ships, creating an order book rather than a one-off demonstrator.

Other recommendations include developing a US nuclear ship lifecycle shipyard alongside the vessel, resolving liability and insurance before construction begins, using federal finance tools such as Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program, and starting workforce development in year one.

The programme should ultimately be judged on safe ship availability, cargo moved, schedule reliability, and the cost and time required to order the next ship, the company says.

"Reactor output and a successful first voyage are necessary, but they are not sufficient," the response concludes.