While countries like Germany or on track to completely phase out nuclear power plants by 2022, Russia’s is building more of them and even making them floatable so they can provide power to remote areas. However, not everyone is convinced that placing a powerful nuclear reactor on a ship is such a good idea.
Looking exactly like what you would imagine a floating power plant to look like, the Akademik Lomonosov is certainly an impressive sight to behold. Its mission, to provide power to in remote regions of Russia’s extreme north and far east, is also quite interesting, as it allows Russia to significantly cut costs by just moving the ship to where it is needed, instead of moving machinery out by land. If everything goes according to plan, the Lomonosov should prove a great asset to Russia, but environmentalists and nuclear experts are worried that in case of a natural disaster, it could cause an environmental catastrophe.
