French scientists eye Malta for proposed underwater nuclear power-plant

The idea behind the project, launched last year and due for completion in 2013, is to look at the possibility of submerging small nuclear power plants deep underwater to supply low-cost energy to isolated countries or islands that cannot afford a major inland atomic plant.

The study, pioneered by French state controlled submarine builder DCNS, will now look into whether standardised nuclear plants the size and shape of submarines, and much cheaper to install than regular plants, could safely operate in the sea and supply power to land via underwater cables.

DCNS is currently in the process of carrying out two years of feasibility studies - backed up by reactor-maker Areva , nuclear power producer EDF and France's atomic body CEA - to address pollution and security questions.

The experimental platform has been called 'Flexblue' and according to Andre Kolmayer, head of DCNS's civilian nuclear business unit, DCNS is looking at Malta, Cyprus and Morocco as "typical markets" the scientists are looking at for the project.

Kolmayer however noted that DCNS had received no mark of interest yet.

Asked by MaltaToday whether DCNS had made any formal approach to the Maltese government, Enemalta, or any other private organisation in Malta regarding the submerged nuclear power plant, DCNS chief spokesman Emmanuel Gaudez was non committal.

His remarks were later limited to a written reply by email penned by another spokesperson identified as Virginie Lemière, which said that "this concept had to be validated by a series of studies to be completed over the coming two years. So, currently, DCNS is still carrying out those studies that will help DCNS to make a decision at the beginning of 2013".

Lemière added: "we'll keep you informed as soon as we'll get news about the project." The Maltese government has meanwhile denied having "any contact" so far with DCNS. Neither Enemalta have had any contact.

The DCNS project is being developed at the height of the energy debate in Malta following the government's acquisition of a Danish designed heavy-fuel oil prototype assembled by BWSC and recently a proposal by Norwegian-based energy producing company Sargas, which says it can supply with a zero emissions plant.

In a press kit sent to MaltaToday, DCNS makes it clear that  "output from a 'Flexblue' unit would be sufficient to provide the electrical power requirements of communities with up to one million inhabitants, equivalent to "a city the size of Tangier or an island like Malta".

The energy cost is calculated as being similar to that from land-based power plants.

A first 'Flexblue' unit with a capacity of 50 to 250 megawatts (MW) - which compares with up to 1,650 MW that can be generated by a reactor on land - could come on stream by the end of 2016.

"I am convinced this can be done," Andre Kolmayer, head of DCNS's civilian nuclear business unit, had told Reuters news agency.

"There are about 150 nuclear submarines roaming around the world today, so putting a nuclear plant underwater is not exactly a novelty," he said.

"DCNS has built nuclear submarines for 40 years, and we have put 18 in action. The technology we'll use for Flexblue will be carefully demilitarised, but it will evidently benefit from this experience," said the atomic engineer, who worked for nuclear reactor maker Areva for 25 years before joining DCNS in 2002.

DCNS plans to build a capsule-shaped unit 100 metres long, 12-15 metres in diameter and weighing 12,000 tonnes and moor it on the seabed at a depth of 100 metres.

"This is a cylindrical shape, but that is as close as it is to a submarine. There is no propulsion ... It will not go as deep as submarines. We won't have the same acoustic discretion, anti-radar quality or resistance to military shock," Kolmayer said.

The company aims to capitalise on renewed global interest in atomic power in the face of surging oil prices and growing concern over climate-warming carbon emissions from power plants.

"The facility's technology cannot be used for military purposes," said Kolmayer, who sees Flexblue as less vulnerable to terror attacks and natural disasters than plants on land.

He said security issues were at the heart of DCNS's studies. The water depth would protect the units against a plane crash, thunder or a tsunami, and a metal net would protect them by making a torpedo explode at a distance.

"Going that deep is not within the reach of everyone, so they (terrorist groups) would need to have quasi-military means."

Kolmayer said that should the unit be hit, a security option would mean the reactor compartment is flooded with water.

"Water extinguishes everything," he added.

Kolmayer said an accident like the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 would not be possible in theory, although this would have to be backed up by DCNS's studies over the next two years.

"We are talking about a small reactor. If you plunge everything in the water, it cools down naturally. To have strong radioactive emanations, you need the reactor to go at a very high temperature and start melting... but water extinguishes everything," he said.

Anti-nuclear groups such as "Sortir du Nucleaire" ("Phasing Out of the Nuclear Age") have described the project as "absurd".

"Radioactivity would spread even more quickly in the water than in the air, with even fewer means to control leaks," said Sortir du Nucleaire coordinator Anne-Laure Meladeck in Lyon.

The units would be installed in groups - "a little like wind farms," said Kolmayer - five to 15 kilometres offshore.

DCNS said they could supply cities of about 100,000 inhabitants, or up to a million in emerging countries, via underwater cables and offer a standard, easy-to-assemble power production tool that is much cheaper than nuclear plants on land.

"The market is global and complementary to that of big nuclear plants. We are not aiming at the same market. We're aiming at emerging countries whose power network is too small to harbour a big nuclear power plant," said Kolmayer.

He estimated the global market for Flexblue at between 100 and 300 units, depending on the price, which DCNS puts anywhere from €100 million to €1 billion.