New U.S.-U.K. Tech Prosperity Deal includes nuclear propulsion for merchant ships

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Maritime nuclear technologies, including floating nuclear power plants and nuclear-powered merchant ships, are included in a new Technical Prosperity Deal announced yesterday by President Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The White House hailed the deal as “a landmark science and technology agreement that will propel the U.S. – U.K. special relationship to new heights for the technological age, and deliver wins for the American people and American innovation globally.”

The MOU outlining the elements of the deal says a lot about collaboration on AI, but another large piece of it has to do with civil nuclear energy and long time proponents of nuclear-powered merchant ships, including CORE Power and the Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization (NEMO) have found much to like in that part of the Technical Prosperity Deal.

Commenting on the landmark agreement, Mikal Bøe, CEO of CORE Power said: “This agreement between two leading nuclear and maritime nations recognizes the economic benefit of civil maritime nuclear and that 2025 is the year it begins to go mainstream. CORE Power has established close partnerships in both countries to build reactors suitable for maritime use, shape the regulatory environment for rapid deployment, and engage the shipbuilding sector on vessel design.

“CORE POWER stands ready to complete development of the civil maritime nuclear sector alongside the U.S. and U.K. Governments in a true public-private partnership for our common economic success”.

CORE POWER board member and former U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral (Ret.) John Richardson said: “Our two nations have long had a special and mutually supportive relationship across all elements of national power. Now is the time for our combined expertise, industrial strength, and shared commitment to accelerate the deployment of safe, secure, and reliable new nuclear power in the maritime environment to strengthen our energy security and resilience.”

NEMO warmly welcomed the signing of the MOU on the Technology Prosperity Deal and noted that the announcement of increased transatlantic cooperation includes accelerating the development of regulatory, safety, and operational frameworks for maritime nuclear technologies, including floating power plants and nuclear-powered merchant ships.

“A strengthened bilateral partnership is a significant milestone in global efforts to decarbonize shipping and coastal industrial end-users, improve resilience of logistics networks, and promote safe, sustainable maritime nuclear deployment,” said NEMO, adding that it believes that, by combining U.S. and U.K. technical expertise, regulatory leadership, research capacity, and industrial capability, this partnership will help align international frameworks and ensure that nuclear maritime applications proceed on a foundation of excellence in safety, security, environmental protection, and sustainability.