I would for one prefer a diesel to an AIP system. Less parts to break, simpler to maintain and easy to start when you NEED it to. Remember, we are talking about a BACKUP system. One that gives you juice AFTER the plant has gone down and BEFORE the battery has gone flat.
With a diesel, once you line up the air supply all you have to do it apply some compressed air (no electricity needed to start the thing) to get it rolling and then it runs till you turn the the fuel or air off. Nice and simple. It has its own fuel pump, coolant pump, everything needed is mechanical and attached to the engine. After all, all it does is make electricity and it does it VERY well.
Case in point, during a battery swap we lost shore power. With the battery disconnected it got REAL dark in the boat. We had NO power on the boat and were on flashlights and lighters to see. About 6 valves, and then the hiss of compressed air, and you could hear ol' smokey rumble to life. About 3 minutes later you close ONE breaker (manually as there is no power for the remote switching) and you now have AC power restored. From there it is a simple recovery to restore essential gear.
The criteia we had was this. If the reactor dies, you have enough fuel onboard to get you to a friendly port under your own power. Will you be comfortable DOING this? No, But if you NEED to, you can do it.
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