Norway Grants $2 Million in Funding for Naval Nuclear Propulsion Project

The Research Council of Norway awarded a grant of NOK 20 million, equivalent to $2 million, to the Marine Nuclear Propulsion System (MarNuPS) project, which is led by Emerald Nuclear Norway, the Norwegian subsidiary of nuclear energy company Emerald Nuclear. The project is targeting a first deployment aboard a vessel by 2031 or 2032.

The system will integrate Emerald Nuclear's 5 MW Gem microreactor with onboard power systems, storage, power management, and automation and bridge controls. The project's first stage, scheduled for 2027, will install a full-scale test facility near Ålesund, in Stette, where the system will be evaluated using electric heating in place of nuclear fuel to simulate reactor operation. That initial phase is expected to cost approximately NOK 150 million, around $15 to $15.6 million according to Ship Bunker and Splash247, while Maritime Executive puts the total cost of the first research phase at about $15 million, with additional contributions from the partners.

Project partners include offshore vessel operator Island Offshore, Emerald's first commercial customer and the shipowner planning to be the first to install the system; shipyard Vard Group, owned by Fincantieri, along with Vard Electro; the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Imperial College London; and engineering firm Maskindynamikk. Vard will handle vessel design and integration, while Vard Electro will develop the power management and automation systems.

Hallgeir Juliebø, co-founder and chief commercial officer of Emerald, noted that receiving the grant is evidence of validation and gives momentum to the program as it moves from design and analysis toward building and testing a complete integrated system. Emerald Nuclear is a microreactor startup focused on naval and barge applications, led by a nuclear engineer with aerospace experience and with a former Naval Reactors officer on its board; its GEM concept runs on TRISO-coated uranium fuel pellets, with reactor refueling every five to fifteen years, under a business model based on reactor leasing.

The project builds on the NuProShip research program, led by NTNU, which has been examining the feasibility of integrating advanced nuclear reactors into commercial shipping. The planned tests will assess normal operation, rapid changes in power demand, system stress, emergency responses, and crew interaction. While the goal is a commercial demonstration in the early part of the next decade, actual vessel deployment will depend on completing technical qualification and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.