Seaborg and BEES sign MoU relating to floating Compact Molten Salt Reactor

Thursday, 19 May 2022

Seaborg's Compact Molten Salt Reactor (CMSR) power barge is designed to be a turn-key product which can be moored in a harbour, and be of a modular design and able to deliver between 200 MWe and 800 MWe for its 24-year lifetime.

Instead of having solid fuel rods that need constant cooling, the CMSR's fuel is mixed in a liquid salt that acts as a coolant, which means that it will simply shut down and solidify in case of emergency. The timeline for Seaborg, which was founded in 2014, has been for commercial prototypes to be built in 2024 with commercial production of Power Barges beginning from 2026.

Earlier this year Seaborg signed a deal with Samsung Heavy Industries, who will build the barges. Seaborg said that "to achieve this all, legislation and approvals need to be established" in both Korea and the country where each power barge is to operate.

Younwon Park, CEO of BEES, said: "There is a new wave blowing in the nuclear industry worldwide. From the perspective of large-scale nuclear power plants, the wave blows toward advanced reactors. Seaborg is extraordinary in advanced nuclear reactor designs, and we are honored to participate in such a move. BEES will fully support Seaborg in obtaining approvals in Korea."

Troels Schønfeldt, CEO and co-founder of Seaborg, said: "We are honoured to have signed this MoU with BEES, which marks another milestone in obtaining our goal of supplying abundant, affordable, and clean energy to the world, based on our inherently safe CMSR Power Barge. BEES has extensive experience in traditional legislation, so we are pleased that BEES will work together with Seaborg in linking the maritime legislation to the traditional shore-based nuclear legislation."