The agency and Coast Guard also recently established a memorandum of understanding to coordinate oversight of civilian maritime nuclear projects. The agreement establishes a framework for coordinating requirements involving the design, construction, operation and oversight of civilian reactors installed aboard vessels or other facilities under Coast Guard jurisdiction.
Asante said the new financing has likely accelerated Bluecore’s anticipated timeline toward achieving first criticality, the point at which a reactor sustains a controlled nuclear chain reaction.
He said 2027 remains a possibility, though the company is not committing to a specific date. “It is likely accelerated,” Asante said, pointing to Bluecore’s work with regulators, the Port of Long Beach, national laboratories, fuel suppliers and reactor manufacturers.
“I’m still looking at sometime next year, 2027,” he said. Asante stressed, however, that Bluecore’s priorities are “first safety and then speed.”
Achieving criticality would also not mean that Bluecore was ready to begin commercial operations at the Port of Long Beach.