Overview
- Bluecore Energy has established a 10,000-square-foot site at Berth 48, taken delivery of a tank barge and raised about $10 million in pre-seed funding as it develops floating small modular reactors.
- The Port of Long Beach signed a non-binding cooperation agreement with the U.S. Maritime Administration in July to prepare safety protocols, infrastructure and regulatory readiness for maritime SMR technology.
- Bluecore describes a compact, water-cooled 10 MWe reactor to sit on a barge and generate roughly the equivalent of power for 15,000 homes, but the design and deployment plans are still unsubmitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- Independent experts and advocacy groups warn about costs, earthquake and flood risks, security and nuclear-proliferation concerns, saying those issues will shape public acceptance and regulator scrutiny.
- Officials and analysts say multiple federal approvals from the NRC, DOE, EPA, Coast Guard and MARAD plus far more capital and testing are needed, so commercial use is likely years away and not guaranteed.