Lloyd’s Register to Use Gen AI to Advance Nuclear Tech in Maritime

Lloyd’s Register has announced that it will become one of the first maritime organisations to use generative AI to enhance the permitting process for the deployment of nuclear technology within the maritime industry. 

The company is partnering with Microsoft and will be using the latter’s Azure OpenAI service to ‘bridge the gap between terrestrial and maritime applications’. 

In a statement, Lloyd’s suggested that it would be using Microsoft’s generative AI solutions which works by ‘analysing historic nuclear licensing data and allows licensing engineers to draft new permitting documents more quickly, ready for review and refinement. It can also quickly search for regulations, precedents, and other valuable information buried in large regulatory datasets’. 

Lloyd’s Register expects this application of generative AI to result in a faster and more cost-effective pathway through nuclear regulation. Should this be the case, it is hoped it will speed the application of nuclear tech as a viable clean energy solution. 

Commenting on the new initiative, Mark Tipping, Lloyd’s Register’s Global Offshore Power To X Director, said:

“We have a large data source from decades of regulatory applications which these AI capabilities can interrogate swiftly to identify good practice and lessons learned. Collaborating with Microsoft provides us with an excellent opportunity to combine two very different areas of expertise, their AI capabilities and our vast history and knowledge of maritime and nuclear safety”. 

His comment was echoed by Jeff Scott, Deputy Chief Technology Innovation Officer at Lloyd’s Register: 

“Regulations shouldn’t be a roadblock to innovation - they should be a launchpad. By teaming up with Microsoft, we’re using AI to cut through the red tape and fast-track the future of nuclear in maritime. It’s an exciting step toward making clean energy a reality on the water”.

Darryl Willis, Microsoft CVP, Energy & Resources Industry, added: 

“This collaboration underscores our commitment to harnessing the power of AI to drive innovation and advance sustainability across sectors. By combining our AI expertise with Lloyd’s Register’s expertise in maritime and nuclear safety, we are paving the way to ease regulatory barriers and make sustainability more attainable for all industries”.

Lloyd’s Register’s partnership with Microsoft on an artificial intelligence project is one of the many recent instances of big tech firms partnering with maritime firms. Last year saw the Port of Singapore partnered with Microsoft, whilst the autumn of that year saw French shipping giant CMA CGM join up with Google to ‘lead the AI revolution’. 

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