There’s only one fusion device on earth that has been able to meet a key scientific threshold, but Martime Fusion CEO Justin Cohen is already preparing to put a fusion reactor on a boat.
Stay with me — it’s not entirely far-fetched. Thanks to advances in AI, computing, and superconducting magnets, fusion power is closer than ever to commercial reality. It’s increasingly looking like fusion is more a question of “when” not “if.” And when it does happen, it promises to deliver large amounts of clean power from a plentiful fuel source — water.
Putting a reactor on a ship isn’t necessarily unreasonable, either. Today, submarines and aircraft carriers powered by nuclear fission reactors routinely prowl the seas. They’re quiet, powerful, and can operate for decades before they need refueling. The civilian sector even toyed with the idea of nuclear-powered cargo ships back in the 1960s and 1970s.
“Fission has definitely paved the way in terms of nuclear power on ships,” Cohen, who co-founded Maritime Fusion, told TechCrunch.
Fusion promises to give ships similar capabilities but without concerns over meltdowns, proliferation, or radiation. For now, the sector has been focused on building the first reactors on land. “I’m pretty sure we’re the first people to ever really look at what is it like to put a tokamak on a ship,” Cohen said, referring to a leading fusion reactor design.
If fusion does pan out, then Maritime’s leap to the seas would put it ahead of the curve. Plus, Cohen argues, it might actually be easier from a business perspective to start out at sea.
The first fusion power plants won’t be cheap, and it will take some time before they come down in cost.
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“Competing against things like solar and wind on the grid is super challenging from a cost perspective,” Cohen said.
At sea, the economics look different. Ammonia and hydrogen are two leading contenders to replace diesel and bunker fuel on cargo ships, but they’re still pretty pric …