To achieve zero carbon emissions by 2035, we’ll need to deploy a variety of technologies and innovations to decarbonize our entire economy, not just where we get our electricity. Among the innovations being researched and demonstrated are new ways to produce hydrogen without carbon emissions. The concept of carbon-free hydrogen is so popular that many energy and environmental experts are touting it as a game changer for the transportation and industrial sectors.
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— CLIMATE CH₂AMPION (@CLIMATECH2AMP) December 29, 2020
Currently, much of the hydrogen fuel produced in the U.S. depends on methane from natural gas wells—in a process which releases significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
Enter nuclear, the largest source of carbon-free energy in the U.S. and an excellent alternative for hydrogen production. Using a process called high-temperature steam electrolysis, hydrogen is produced using the steam and electricity generated by nuclear reactors.
“Nuclear plants provide a ready source of steam, making the process more efficient than low-temperature steam electrolysis, as you would see from sources like wind and solar. Using nuclear energy instead of natural gas provides a carbon-free way to complete this process,” explained Patrick Burke, Xcel Energy's vice president of nuclear strategy and innovation.
Xcel Energy is one of several utilities partnering with Idaho National Laboratory to further the development of carbon-free hydrogen production through the U.S. Department of Energy’s H2@Scale program. Through this program three utilities—Xcel Energy Inc., Arizona Public Service, and Energy Harbor—were selected to demonstrate large-scale hydrogen production, storage and distribution using nuclear plants. Xcel Energy’s goal is to demonstrate how the technology can work at reactors, as well as support the growing hydrogen production supply chain in the U.S.
“Developing carbon-free hydrogen production helps us use the full value of our nuclear fleet so we can use excess steam and electricity when we ramp the plant down to accommodate the amount of renewables on our system, which continues to grow,” said Burke.
Similarly, Arizona Public Service will explore using electricity from its Palo Verde nuclear plant to produce hydrogen, in addition to electricity. The utility is looking at multiple applications for this hydrogen, including decarbonizing its natural gas plants and helping transition Arizona’s transportation and industrial sectors to non-emitting fuel sources.
“This hydrogen has tremendous value in deep decarbonization of the power, transportation and industrial sectors,” said Michael Green, APS’s general manager of hydrogen energy initiatives.
Meanwhile, advanced reactor developers are designing their reactors with this additional application in mind. For example, NuScale Power LLC’s small modular reactor design provides the flexibility to produce reliable clean electricity for the grid while allocating one or more modules of the design to produce hydrogen when electricity demand is low. This hydrogen can act as both energy storage or carbon-free fuel for fuel cell cars, trucks, trains, ships and airplanes.
“A single module can produce enough hydrogen to power 38,000 fuel cell vehicles or 1,500 long-haul fuel cell trucks,” explained Diane Hughes, NuScale's vice president of marketing and communications.
The clean hydrogen market represents an opportunity for current and new nuclear plants alike. New reactors could attract investment by having customers and a market already lined up, which is something NuScale is proposing for its own design.
“If the market for clean hydrogen grows significantly, it’s possible that some or all modules could be used exclusively for producing hydrogen,” said Hughes.
The challenge of decarbonizing the economy in the next decade will require an entire shift in how energy is produced and used across all sectors. Using all available carbon-free sources, including nuclear, for hydrogen production will be transformative in the push to prevent the worst effects of climate change. The innovations being explored and demonstrated today will help us achieve our ambitious carbon-reduction goals.
