Ulstein, a Norwegian based maritime group, has just released a thorium powered concept ship called Thor As a 149 meter (489 foot) long vessel, it is mainly used for replenishment, research and rescue Its biggest feature is the use of thorium molten salt reactor (MSR) which can charge the battery.
Rendering of nuclear powered Thor "3R" concept ship (from: Ulstein official website)
With the concept of environmental protection becoming more and more popular, ecological travel has also ushered in vigorous development. For supply, research and rescue ships, environmental protection must also be considered if they want to enter the ecologically fragile polar regions.
Thor - a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor ship design by Ulstein(via)
In recent years, the growing demand for polar cruise and surrounding protection is facing the pressure of increasingly strict government regulations and environmental protection organizations. More importantly, operations such as refueling in the cold sea become extremely difficult and expensive, and may cause ecological damage to the surrounding areas.
In order to overcome the above problems, Ulstein proposed the multi-purpose Thor concept. It can be seen that it can not only carry out tasks such as fuel supply and scientific research and rescue in very low sea areas, but also supplement energy for the large battery pack of the next generation electric tanker.
At the same time, Ulstein also proposed the concept of SIF based on Thor power. This is a 100 meter (330 foot) long "Ice Class 1C" ship, which can carry 80 passengers and 80 crew.
Thanks to Ulstein's fourth generation portable MSR thorium reactor - using thorium (thorium / element symbol th) instead of uranium (uranium / element symbol U) fuel - the thorium salt mixture can be heated to 700 ℃ (1292 ℉).
It is worth mentioning that this mixture is both a coolant and a thorium container - as a molten salt reactor at standard atmospheric pressure, it can be cut off in an emergency and rely solely on passive cooling.
In addition, this molten mixture means that we can recycle chemically and replenish clean fuel for the reactor. According to Ulstein, it is committed to providing sufficient power for four exploration tankers without replenishing fuel during their life.
Finally, Thor and SIF are based on Ulstein's X-Bow ship design, and their electric propulsion system has the characteristics of silent cruise. In addition to the reactor, Thor also designed helipads, fire-fighting devices, rescue booms, workboats, laboratories, and lecture halls.