Company teams up with France’s CEA to evaluate nuclear
Dubai-based global port operator DP World has launched a study alongside French research organisation the Commisariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) into the use of a small modular reactor (SMR) at the Romanian port of Constanța.
In a statement, DP World, which is also working on the study with France-based thinktank TerraWater Institute, said it would assess the projected energy demand for the port from 2030-2050 and evaluate the technical, strategic and economic feasibility of deploying an SMR.
DP World said that SMRs have the potential to provide low-carbon electricity for port operations, as well as wider industrial use.
The study, supported by the CEA’s knowledge of SMR designs, will examine standards and issues for the surrounding environment of the port, on the Black Sea in eastern Romania. Future development at the port would be dependent on further technical assessment, regulatory reviews and stakeholder engagement.
“SMRs are not just energy projects for our ports, they are a competitive infrastructure differentiator,” said Nicholas Mazzei, vice president of sustainability for Europe at DP World. “This study will help us better understand how nuclear energy can strengthen operational resilience and help meet rising demand.”
The CEA said that the study would assess how SMRs could be integrated into a real port environment.
DP World is already planning for the development of nuclear-powered ports in the UK. Working with US reactor manufacturer Last Energy it plans to install a microreactor to expand its London Gateway port and business park.
Romania has one commercial nuclear reactor at Cernavodǎ, which uses two 650-MW Canada-designed Candu6 plants that began commercial operation in 1996 and 2007.
However, the country is committed to developing a 462 MW SMR project using six 77-MW reactors developed by NuScale, built on the site of the former Doicești coal plant about 90 km northwest of Bucharest.
