With NASA Langley now revealing that they have found low-energy nuclear reactions a reality, I wonder what kind of power levels viable devices will be able to provide. If they're in the MWs and still reasonable in size and mass, maybe they could turn out to be a really good AIP system without the problems associated with "true" nuclear power (safety, cost, size, mass, waste, noise).
Perhaps the ratio of excess heat to electric power is too great for submarine use. Unless of course the heat itself can be put to use, say as a heat source for a stirling-cycle engine (notoriously un-fussy about its heat sources).
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