§ Technical brief

TidalCore — concept-stage technical brief

A study of a compact heat-pipe microreactor for maritime hubs, evaluating shore power and high-temperature process heat for hard-to-electrify port operations. Every figure below is a concept target or study assumption.

Hardware status — No TidalCore reactor hardware has been built, fuelled, or tested. 15 MWth, ~850 °C, and every other parameter published here are concept targets and study assumptions from reduced-order models, pending independent validation.

1. Concept targets

Thermal power: 15 MWth (concept target)
Electrical output: 5.0 MWe net, electric-priority (~5.3 MWe gross, ~6% house load)
Efficiency: ~35.5% gross / ~33% net sCO₂ cycle (concept target)
Cogeneration option: ~6 MWth process heat + ~3 MWe net (never above 15 MWth total)
Core life: 12-year target core
Core outlet temperature: ~850 °C (concept target)
Primary heat transport: Sodium heat pipes (passive, no pumped primary coolant)
Fuel: HALEU TRISO particle fuel (supply not secured)
Power conversion: Supercritical CO₂ Brayton cycle (study assumption)
Module: Factory-sealed, transportable (study assumption)

2. Deployment phases

Phase 1 — electricity-only export to a port MV substation for shore power and microgrid loads.
Phase 2 — co-located high-temperature process heat, only after Phase 1 protocols exist.

3. Port siting envelope

Module footprint: ~180 m² per module (study assumption)
Excludes switchgear, security buildings and laydown.
Security & controlled area: To be set by site-specific analysis
Standoff and exclusion distances are an open licensing question under Part 53 and NRC security rules — not assumed here.
Siting options: Quay-side (on land) or barge-mounted
Barge option would need adequate berth water depth and mooring; depth is port-specific.
Grid connection: Port MV substation, 6.6 kV / 11 kV class
Typical shore-power voltages; exact interface depends on the host port.
Crane & berth clearance: Sited outside crane rail and berth operating envelope
Placement is a planning assumption to avoid disrupting cargo operations.
Natural hazards: Seismic, flooding, storm surge and tsunami screening required
No site has been characterised; design-basis hazards are unknown.

4. Proposed licensing pathway (NRC 10 CFR Part 53, effective 2026-04-29)

NRC pre-application engagement — not started
Part 53 conformance gap analysis — planning assumption
Design-stage application route — open question
USCG / host-port interface protocol — not started
Site-specific licensing at a host port — target, no host port

TidalCore holds no licence, approval, fuel allocation, port agreement or partnership. Nothing here guarantees any technical, regulatory or funding outcome. More detail: specifications, regulatory pathway, data room.