Bluecore Energy is developing offshore nuclear reactor barges with the Port of Long Beach, with Bluecore Energy offshore nuclear reactors each capable of powering up to 15,000 homes, according to CBS Los Angeles.
The Long Beach-based startup, founded in January, raised $10 million in a pre-seed round and became the first nuclear company to sign a partnership with the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) on offshore reactors.
The project would mount small modular reactors (SMRs) on floating barges to supply clean power to ports, coastal data centres, and merchant ships. Reactors can be moved by tugboat, stacked for extra capacity, and connected to shore via subsea cable.
California has banned new nuclear plant construction since 1976, citing environmental concerns and unresolved radioactive waste issues. Port chief executive Noel Hacegaba acknowledged the regulatory road is long.
‘This innovation is years away from becoming a reality due to the technological advancements and regulatory hurdles that still need to be cleared, and it cannot advance without state and federal approvals,’ Hacegaba said.
Bluecore Energy offshore nuclear plan: the detail
Founder and chief executive Kofi Asante, 31, said barges solve two problems at once: the need for large amounts of reliable energy and the shortage of land near urban ports.
‘The philosophy was really process of elimination: if you need that much energy, then you arrive at a nuclear reactor,’ Asante said. ‘And if you need real estate, two-thirds of the world is water, so you can use barges for extra real estate.’
Reactors can be positioned miles offshore and linked via subsea cable, avoiding proximity to residential areas. In a severe weather event, Asante said the barges can be repositioned and are shielded to withstand extreme conditions, with automatic shutdown systems as a fallback.
‘Water is the cooling mechanism and safest place for our systems, and we have an unlimited amount of access,’ he said.
Nuclear analyst Max Hopkins of CITIC CLSA said the concept is commercially viable but remains years from deployment. Regulatory frameworks, supply chains, and manufacturing systems all still need to be built.
‘To put something into place fast, with production means, and then you can just float it somewhere, it seems like offshore barges are going to be almost ideal,’ Hopkins told Fortune.
Federal push and maritime ambitions
MARAD announced a separate partnership with London-based Core Power to develop regulatory frameworks for a future fleet of nuclear-powered merchant cargo vessels. A day later, the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency launched the Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea (ATLAS) initiative to advance SMR and micro-reactor technology for merchant shipping.
Maritime vessels account for roughly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, broadly equivalent to the total emissions of all of Africa, according to Hopkins.
Nuclear-powered ships need refuelling only every two or three years rather than every voyage, cutting fossil fuel use and enabling faster transit times.
Russia’s floating nuclear station, moored at the Arctic town of Pevek, has been in service since 2020. Denmark-based Saltfoss Energy is pursuing similar barge-mounted reactors in Europe.
Port of Long Beach CEO Hacegaba said state lawmakers are already debating legislation to study lifting California’s nuclear ban. ‘Nuclear is having a moment at the Port of Long Beach, and we are engaged with the private sector, along with state and federal legislators on this issue,’ he said.
The port confirmed Bluecore is operating within existing state and federal laws while it researches and develops the SMR technology.
