First marine nuclear reactor will be ready by 2020

Hubei province has completed the technical design of its offshore nuclear power station and will soon start its construction, with the first marine reactor to be delivered in 2020.

The offshore nuclear power stations, including floating and submarine ones, can sail to where they are needed and be used for many different needs, including operating drilling machinery for offshore oil and gas fields, providing power supply to islands, as well as heating and desalination.

Batch construction of offshore nuclear power stations will result in a market that could be worth tens of billions of dollars in a marine nuclear energy industry chain, according to the 719 Research Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the general contractor of the project.