Compact, sea-transportable power plants can be installed close to any region where their generating capacity is needed.
– Edited By Tom Lamar –
In response to the challenges of rising global energy demand and renewed interest in nuclear power – which reduces greenhouse gas emissions while conserving fossil fuels – the potential of small and medium reactors (SMRs) is under study in the United States, Japan, Russia and other countries led primarily by companies with experience in nuclear propulsion.
AREVA has launched a program to study small reactors rated at 100 MWe with a view to rounding out its range of third-generation reactors comprising the EPR, ATMEA and Kerena types. This study will draw on AREVA’s expertise in small shipboard reactors to assess the product’s feasibility and market potential.
DCNS, for its part, has announced its innovative Flexblue concept following preliminary studies lasting over two years.
About Flexblue:
Flexblue is a small subsea nuclear power plant with an output rating of 50 to 250 MWe. The power plant proper comprises a nuclear reactor, a steam turbine-alternator set and associated electrical equipment. Submarine power cables will carry electricity from the Flexblue plant to the coast. Flexblue plants are designed to be moored on an extremely stable seafloor at a depth of 60 to 100 metres a few kilometres off shore. Ballast tanks will be used to raise or lower the plant during installation and for major maintenance, refuelling or dismantling. A Flexblue plant should be able to meet the electricity requirements of regions with a population of 100,000 to 1,000,000, depending on the plant’s power rating, living standards and the needs of local industries.
- Is based on proven technologies that draw on DCNS’s 40 years’ experience in nuclear propulsion and submarine power plants built under AREVA TA prime contractor
- Combines the inherent benefits of SMRs, including phased investment and ready tailoring to demand
- Features standard subsystems integrated at shipyards and shipped to the installation site by sea.
Both EDF and AREVA have expressed interest in Flexblue’s modularity and standardization.
DCNS will work with AREVA, EDF and the CEA on the next phase of Flexblue development. This will include detailed reviews of:
- Technical and production options
- Market potential
- Flexblue’s competitive standing compared with other sources of energy
- Nuclear proliferation issues
- Safety and security aspects of seafloor power plants with a view to demonstrating that Flexblue offers a level of safety comparable with that of third-generation land-based nuclear power plants.
These studies are expected to take two years.
Technical Data:
Hull shape: cylindrical
Length (approx.): 100 m
Diameter (approx.): 12 – 15 m
Power: 50 – 250 MWe
Design concept: small nuclear reactor + steam turbine-alternator set + electrical equipment (electricity to be carried to coast by submarine power cables)
Mass (approx.): 12,000 tonnes
Siting: seafloor moorings at a depth of 60 to 100 m, a few km off coast.