In the ’80s many countries explicitly decided to drop nuclear and the result was an increased reliance on fossil fuels. And now the number of people dying of fossil fuel-induced pollution is 8 million every year (check this UCL piece of research).
Fortunately now we start timidly to talk about nuclear again. Yes it has this aura of death, but it has proven to be much less lethal that fossil fuels. Hopefully we won’t repeat the same mistake as 40 years ago. We should at least consider it as a valid alternative for ship propulsion (Nuclear ships already exist in the Navy) and more generally for energy production (new, less expensive nuclear plants are being designed).
We will need a lot of energy to produce the fuel of the future for shipping, Hydrogen. And this energy needs to be green. But there is not a surplus of green energy and there won’t be for long. What about using nuclear to produce H2 for shipping. And electric energy for land of course.
Let’s keep the conversation going and see what really nuclear can provide to an asphyxiating planet.
