Canada-based Prodigy Clean Energy and UK-based Lloyd’s Register (LR) are collaborating to complete the development of lifecycle requirements for Prodigy’s Transportable Nuclear Power Plants (TNPPs) for deployment in Canada by 2030. The agreement was reached during CeraWeek in Houston.
The project is partially funded by a CAD2.7m ($1.9m) Government of Canada award to Prodigy under the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Enabling Small Modular Reactor (SMRs) programme. The aim is to produce models for TNPP marine fabrication, marine transport and centralised decommissioning. The collaboration is intended to demonstrate how a country can manufacture, deploy, operate and decommission transportable and floating NPP technologies without making major changes to sovereign regulatory frameworks.
“In a world where demand for more nuclear generation is surging, Prodigy’s transportable nuclear facilities are emerging as missing puzzle pieces to mass customise SMR new builds,” said Prodigy President & CEO Mathias Trojer. “The development of our lifecycle requirements has progressed significantly over the past two years and will benefit greatly from LR’s experience and recommendations.”
Mark Tipping, LR’s Global Offshore Power To X Director, who leads on nuclear technology, said the project is notable as it is one of the first to establish guidelines for transportable and floating nuclear power plants. “We are developing models based on real-world use cases with specific inputs from end-users, setting a potential global standard. These models will be valuable for sovereign regulators and international marine fabricators as they work to position themselves in the emerging global maritime nuclear energy market.”
Prodigy is developing two sizes of facilities: the Prodigy Microreactor Power Station TNPP and the SMR Marine Power Station TNPP, which can integrate different sizes and types of nuclear reactors. Prodigy’s TNPPs are not barges with reactors onboard – they are purpose-designed, marine fabricated buildings qualified to house operating nuclear reactors. All systems and components are contained within the TNPP, reducing the need for additional land-based buildings.
Prodigy says it can deliver a new nuclear build in significantly less time and at a more competitive cost, compared with traditional nuclear construction practices by using a dedicated workforce in a marine fabrication factory setting and transporting the entire power plant to site. Prodigy’s TNPPs are customisable from 1-1,000 gross output and can be tailored for high-heat applications. They provide solutions across a variety of sectors, including hard-to-abate industries, data centres, heavy industry, clean fuels and hydrogen generation, and grid decarbonisation, ensuring rapid deployment of clean, affordable and firm power.
LR is supporting Prodigy in combining best in class practices across the maritime, nuclear and offshore industries to create a novel, but practical power plant lifecycle approach. This will ensure TNPPs meet Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements for nuclear safety, security and safeguards. The goal is to achieve licensing and deployment for an energy project in Canada in the next 5-7 years.
Prodigy is working with a multinational mining company on its first TNPP project with the aim of supplying power to a large remote critical minerals cluster in Canada. Phase II feasibility studies are underway. These include gathering site and environmental data, performing a prototypical test programme, and engagement with the local Indigenous communities. TNPP deployment is designed to offset diesel generation, supplying lower-cost, reliable and carbon-free electricity and heat for up to 60 years.
In March 2024, Prodigy and Indigenous Economic Development Corporation Des Nëdhé Group signed a memorandum of understanding to develop opportunities to power remote mines and communities in Canada using Prodigy microreactor TNPPs. Under Prodigy and Des Nëdhé will explore potential TNPP projects, and engage with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis across Canada, identifying ways in which Indigenous Peoples could have ownership in TNPP new builds, and how an Indigenous workforce could participate in TNPP commercialisation and strategic infrastructure development.
Given Canada’s rich deposits of critical minerals, predominantly located in off-grid regions, a fleet of TNPPs could deliver the necessary clean energy security to enhance the country’s critical minerals resilience. Prodigy is developing a TNPP integrating the Westinghouse eVinci microreactor to address this market.
