Bluecore Energy buys uranium, advances plans for a small nuclear barge in Long Beach port

Bluecore Energy, a maritime energy company designing a small nuclear barge at the Port of Long Beach, announced this week that it has secured low-enriched uranium from the nation’s largest commercial nuclear fuel market facility.

The acquisition from WMC, a nuclear fuel market intermediary, represents “significant progress” in the effort to develop small modular reactor technology, a Bluecore Energy statement said.

Unlike conventional nuclear power plants built around permanent land-based sites, Bluecore Energy is designing its SMR systems from the beginning for deployment on floating maritime platforms, creating flexibility in where future systems can operate.

The company is also continuing its pre-application engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as advancing its effort on a maritime classification pathway with the American Bureau of Shipping.

“We’ve moved quickly since launching Bluecore Energy,” founder and CEO Kofi Asante said in a written statement, “but speed only matters if it is paired with rigor.

“We are putting the pieces in place across fuel, testing, engineering, safety, regulation and maritime classification at the same time,” he added. “That is what it takes to turn this technology into a real system, and ultimately deliver reliable, zero emission energy where it is needed most.”

A landmark agreement signed in July resulted in a deal between the U.S. Department of Transportations Maritime Administration — also known as MARAD — and the Port of Long Beach permits the relatively new startup to develop small modular nuclear reactors at the port. For years now, the port has been working to become the world’s first fully zero-emission operations port.

The small modular reactors, also known as SMRs, will be developed by Bluecore Energy, which launched about a year ago, at Berth 48. If successful, the SMRs will eventually be used to generate electricity to power some of the port’s operations and vessels.

Related: Port of Long Beach could bring new nuclear power to California for first time in 50 years

But SMRs are a relatively new technology. Worldwide, just two small modular nuclear reactors currently operate: one in Russia and another in China. Multiple SMRs are currently in development in the United States, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – but none has been built yet. Antares Nuclear, in Torrance, is among the U.S. companies working on SMR technology.

Bluecore Energy has purchased uranium hexafluoride enriched to 4.95% uranium-235 from WMC, the company said this week, establishing a key part of the company’s nuclear fuel pathway for what would be its first system.

The material is currently at a U.S. nuclear fuel facility outside California while Bluecore Energy advances plans for future fuel fabrication, testing and validation.

Uranium hexafluoride is the required form of uranium during the enrichment stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. The fuel fabrication stage can create fuel pellets to be assembled into nuclear fuel.

Securing the enriched uranium, Bluecore said in a statement, “represents a tangible step beyond reactor design and non-fueled hardware development and toward the physical fuel infrastructure required for fueled testing.”

Bluecore is developing its safety, regulatory and maritime classification pathways alongside its engineering and testing program, the statement said, adding that the company began pre-application engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in August, presenting a conceptual overview of its design and discussing its regulatory strategy with NRC staff. The U.S. Coast Guard also participated in the talks, which led to a signed memorandum of understanding establishing a framework for coordination between the agencies on civilian maritime nuclear projects.

Bluecore Energy also continues engaging with both agencies as it advances the nuclear and maritime considerations associated with future commercial deployment.

“Fuel is obviously fundamental to building a nuclear energy system, but what matters just as much is the environment and process around how you test it,” Megan Moytette, licensing and safety lead and a 13-year U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officer, said in a written statement provided by Bluecore. “Having access to the expertise and infrastructure at the largest commercial nuclear fuel facility in the U.S. allows us to approach this next phase with the rigor it requires. Our goal is not simply to move fast. It is to create and deliver zero-emission energy as safely and quickly as possible.”

In June, Bluecore Energy received an approval-in-principle from the the American Bureau of Shipping for its floating nuclear power plant design.

The company is now pushing several key work streams in parallel, Bluecore said, with engineering, nuclear safety, fuel qualification and testing, federal regulatory engagement, and maritime classification requirements all being integrated to develop the company’s first system.

The milestones come fewer than three months after Bluecore Energy emerged from stealth and weeks after the company announced a $50 million seed financing, a news release said.

“Together,” the release said, “they represent continued progress in moving Bluecore Energy’s technology from engineering and non-fueled hardware development toward fuel fabrication, testing, validation and future deployment.”

Bluecore Energy is headquartered inside the Port of Long Beach but does not operate an active nuclear reactor or store nuclear fuel on site. The company is developing its first maritime nuclear energy system, and conducting research and development on a non-fueled maritime reactor module prototype.

Bluecore’s SMR would be built and would operate on a barge in the water.

On Sept. 15, Bluecore Energy opened the doors of its headquarters to more than 100 leaders and guests across government, maritime, nuclear energy, infrastructure, investment, technology and the Long Beach community for the inaugural Bluecore Energy Summit.

The event brought together Asante; Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson; Port of Long Beach CEO Noel Hacegaba; and Slauson & Co. managing partners Ajay Relan and Austin Clements for a conversation about growing energy demand, the role nuclear energy can play in meeting it and the opportunity presented by maritime deployment.

Following the panel discussion, guests toured Bluecore Energy’s headquarters, development facility and maritime platform to see the company’s work firsthand.

Depending on the application, regulatory requirements and site-specific safety analysis, future Bluecore Energy systems could support ports, artificial intelligence data centers and coastal infrastructure from appropriate maritime locations, including potential offshore deployment, the company’s release said.

That would mean generating power near where it is needed. It would not inherently require locating a reactor on valuable land or immediately alongside the communities and infrastructure consuming the electricity.

Future sites and operating configurations would be determined through the appropriate federal regulatory, maritime, environmental, security and safety processes, the company said.