Bluecore Energy partners with Port of Long Beach on offshore nuclear barges

California, the state that effectively outlawed new nuclear power plants roughly half a century ago, is now home to a company building nuclear reactors on barges. Bluecore Energy has set up headquarters at the Port of Long Beach after raising $10 million in pre-seed funding, and its first 185-foot tank barge has already been delivered to the site. The startup’s compact reactor design is a 10 MWe water-cooled small modular reactor mounted on a floating barge, capable of generating enough electricity to power approximately 15,000 homes. If it clears the regulatory gauntlet, this would represent the first new nuclear power development in California in about 50 years. The deal with Long Beach and the feds The Port of Long Beach signed a non-binding cooperation agreement with the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) in July 2026 to promote the development of SMR technology for maritime applications. It’s the first agreement of its kind for a US port. The collaboration will involve joint efforts with the US Coast Guard and the Department of Energy to establish safety and operational standards for floating nuclear power. MARAD had issued a Request for Informat...