Apart from the technical and regulatory challenges, I was curious about the economics of using nuclear on yachts. This was further compounded by the fact that Lloyds Register (LR) produced two separate “Fuel For Thought” reports into the use of Nuclear, one for shipping and one for yachts.
Side-by-side the reports were similar, however a notable exception was that there was no costs in the Techno-Economic analysis for yachting.
Fortunately, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) published their report “Potential Use of Nuclear Power for Shipping”. Not only does this provide an in-depth study into the benefits and challenges in shipping, it also included a section on costs that drew upon several studies of land based nuclear reactors that helped them model Total Cost of Ownership examples for several ship types.
Total Cost of Ownership is the sum of the capital expenditures (CAPEX) fuel cost and annual Operational Expenses (OPEX) calculated over a 25-year lifetime. Some suggest due to e.g. complexity, fuelling and decommissioning, is that nuclear reactors for maritime will be rented over the long-term rather than purchased outright. So, spreading the cost over a lifetime is a good way to compare costs.
The impact on cost for yachting is that due to low utilisation and low aggregated annual power demand, you would be paying for energy that would not be consumed i.e. the boiler plate capacity of the reactor rather than consumption, though this could have an impact on refuelling. Note, it is highly unlikely due to the load profile a reactor on a yacht would ever become a “breeder reactor” where it creates more fuel than it consumes.
Notes on the model – link in the comments below.
- Costs include the reactor and generator in terms of electrical power generation (output) and ignore all the ancillary systems such as electrical distribution as well as the balance of the yachts hull and systems.
- A figure for decommissioning the reactor €1.849M MWe (EMSA) is included.
- Maintenance factor for both.
- Inflation is included.
- Carbon tax can be adjusted.
- The yachts utilisation e.g. time underway, can be adjusted.
- A Specific Fuel Consumption of 220 gkWh was used.
- Excluded is the cost of refuelling nuclear due to low utilisation and uncertainty about consumption over the time frame, nevertheless this would be a cost multiplier.
Whilst a better comparison would require more granular data, this model highlights the impact of the largest cost drivers of nuclear vs. fossil fuel yacht. If you play with the model, you will soon see how difficult it is for nuclear to be cost competitive with fossil fuel.
So, apart from the uncertainties and challenges I previously mentioned, the economic model reinforces the conclusion that nuclear on yachts remains more in the realm of fantasy than reality.
