Port Readiness Assessment for Maritime Nuclear Applications

The U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation (USCMI) is building a collaborative team to assess the U.S. port readiness to host or interface with nuclear-related maritime activities, identify capability gaps and recommend actions to close them.

The opportunity

USCMI is building collaborative teams across a series of projects on the application of small modular reactors (SMRs) to maritime uses, including vessel transportation and maritime power generation. This project assesses port readiness for maritime nuclear applications through structured evaluation of port infrastructure and operations, workforce and supply chain assessments, and preparation of a final report with recommendations. The project will include interactive stakeholder engagements to review the assembled research and draft recommendations.

Participant roles include helping design and execute the analyses or providing review of the construct and analyses. Funding is available for select participants. USCMI funding is limited to domestic entities as recipients or subrecipients.

Participant roles

Role 01

Help establish and execute the research and analyses

Help design, plan and execute the analysis of port readiness for commercial nuclear-powered vessels, develop draft recommendations for improving readiness and facilitate the review by stakeholders. See scope of work for more details.

Up to $150K estimated, not to exceed

Role 02

Industry review

Join the advisory team reviewing the readiness analysis and providing feedback. Participants are sought for each key stakeholder perspective, including vessel/plant owner-operators, ports, technology providers, regulatory agencies and shipyards, to provide insights on the draft analyses and conclusions.

Advisory team Planned as unfunded role

Download the documents

How to apply

Submit a short response of no more than five pages that notes the roles of interest, identifies the specific elements of the Scope of Work your organization is applying to support, documents demonstrated capabilities and estimates costs or rates for participation. The Secretariat will select and engage multiple organizations in collaborative research or demonstrations.

Note the role or roles of interest.
Identify the Scope of Work elements you would support.
Document your demonstrated capabilities.
Provide estimated costs or rates for participation.
Submit by 11:59 PM EDT on August 12, 2026.

Submit your response

USCMI funding is limited to domestic entities as recipients or subrecipients. Questions may be directed to info@uscmi.org. Additional project opportunities will be announced separately, and updates to this notice may be issued.

About USCMI

The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 directs the Secretary of Transportation, through a competitive cooperative agreement, to establish the U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation to support the study, research, development, assessment and deployment of emerging marine technologies and practices related to the maritime transportation system (MTS). USCMI is authorized under the Maritime Administration (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program and serves as a national resource for agencies that oversee and develop the MTS.