Nuclear, towards a first trial of mini-reactors on cargo ships

The Chamber of Deputies' examination of the sustainable nuclear energy measure has begun. On Wednesday 3 June, in fact, the government-initiated bill delegating authority to the government on sustainable nuclear energy will come before the Chamber for its first reading. The government's goal, explained Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, is to define a legal framework so that assessments can then be made for the start-up of energy production from new nuclear power.

Meanwhile Pichetto, interviewed by TGCOM24, said that the executive is studying together with Fincantieri the possibility of creating merchant ships equipped with new 'small' nuclear reactors. "Let's say that at this first stage, when we talk about small reactors, the smallest ones are the ones that will go in merchant ships," he said. "Therefore, on this there is reasoning done with Fincantieri, which is one of the big ones in the merchant sector, in the naval sector. It concerns small reactors, 10-15 MW,' the minister added. 'It is not the discovery of hot water, because submarines for eighty years, Russian rather than American ones, have nuclear propulsion,' he added.

The Italia government has expressed its willingness to focus on the 'new nuclear', including both SMRs and AMRs among its priority technologies. Small modular reactors (SMRs) are small plants, with a generating capacity typically between 50 and 300 MWe, designed to be built through serial production in a factory and subsequent assembly on site. Applications could go beyond electricity generation alone: SMRs can potentially provide industrial heat, district heating and contribute to low-emission hydrogen production, making them a versatile tool for decarbonisation.

AMRs, on the other hand, are advanced Generation IV modular reactors, which would introduce more innovative technological solutions than conventional reactors. These include molten salt, lead or sodium cooling, and the use of fast reactors capable of optimising fuel utilisation, significantly reducing the production of high-level waste.