Emerald Nuclear

Emerald Nuclear is a Seattle-based nuclear reactor and systems developer building small, helium-cooled microreactors for the maritime industry, with a wholly-owned Norwegian subsidiary, Emerald Nuclear Norway AS, based at the Norwegian Maritime Competence Center in Ålesund. Its flagship Gem Microreactor runs on TRISO fuel and is designed to let cargo ships and offshore vessels operate for years without refuelling, and the company plans to lease its reactors as a service so operators don't have to hold a nuclear licence themselves.

Founded by CEO Wesley Deason, an astro-nuclear engineer formerly of Ultra Safe Nuclear and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and CCO Hallgeir Juliebø, Emerald Nuclear is developing an offshore construction vessel powered by its helium-cooled GEM microreactor with Norwegian shipowner Island Offshore and shipbuilder Vard, targeting a training reactor barge with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology by 2030 and the first nuclear-powered offshore vessel in 2031. The company has also proposed a floating nuclear power plant to serve remote communities such as Nome, Alaska, and was recognised alongside partners EØI and PTT with the 2025 ISS Excellence in Technology Award.