Russia’s Atomic Power Agency and an Arctic military shipbuilding plant have both agreed to build the world’s first commercial floating nuclear fission reactor, which should be in use in as early as 2010. The first floating reactor that Rosenergoatom and Sevmash build is estimated to cost around $336 million — it will be deployed in a remote, sparsely-populated region on Siberia’s northern coast, where electric and thermal supply is very limited. Russian president Vladimir Putin hopes to bump the nation’s electricity generated by nuclear reactors from 17 percent to 25 percent.

Although Russian authorities believe floating nuclear plants are safe, not everyone is as supportive. Environmentalists like Charles Digges, editor of a Norwegian and Russian arctic nuclear publication, believes that floating nuclear plants are “absolutely unsafe - inherently so.” However, the head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Power Agency has dismissed all criticism while saying that there will not be a floating Chernobyl incident.

Nuclear fission isn’t the only game in town anymore. ITER, JT-60 and EAST are all racing to increase the world’s knowledge on nuclear fusion as well.