As nuclear is already used on aircraft carriers, and with a major cargo ship not having a large crew including guests so it can be properly scrutinized and managed by engineers, why hasn’t this technology ever carried over for commercial operators?
Similarly for hydrogen, why (or are?) ship builders not trying to build hydrogen powered engines? Seeing the massive size of engines (and fuel) they have, could they make super-sized fuel cells and on-board synthesizing to no longer be reliant on gas?
In: Engineering
The other posters covered the cost of nuclear, but I would like to come at this from another angle.
Carbon and pollution are negative externalities that cargo companies don’t pay. Negative externalities are costs to business paid by 3rd parties. Carbon and pollution are costs paid by society instead of the emitter or polluter.
This makes the current fuel sources used artificially cheaper as society pays a large part of the cost.
If countries imposed carbon taxes with tarrifs on imports, it would make greener fuel sources more competitive in cost as emitters would have to internalize the cost of emissions.
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