One of the drawbacks of nuclear power is its lack of flexibility. A novel synergistic design achieved through multi-step innovation presents a re-branding opportunity for the nuclear industry. By offering solutions that are more visible to the public beyond electricity generation, such a design can serve as an additional means of broadening public’s perception to the many ways nuclear power can contribute to sustainable development. In this presentation, we first highlight the desirable features and general design considerations of a multi-purpose nuclear power plant. Then we use a specific case study, a floating nuclear reactor with desalination capabilities, to illustrate the raised points and discuss some of the challenges facing such a novel design.
This presentation was originally developed and presented as a team project during the MeV 2020 summer school.
Laboratory for Scientific Computing and Modelling