Technical and Economic Assessments
Goal
The goal of this activity is to perform technical and economic assessments to identify, analyze, and demonstrate the feasibility of the innovative integration of industrial processes that use heat and electricity with nuclear energy. This will increase the economic viability of current the fleet of operating light water reactor (LWR) plants and future nuclear power plants. Researchers are examining the uses of nuclear energy beyond supplying energy to the power grid. One example is using nuclear energy to make hydrogen and other materials (e.g., fuels, chemicals, etc.) in a sustainable, secure, and effective manner.
Technical and economic assessments (TEAs) are rigorous analyses that show the viability of both the technical and economic challenges of the integration of industrial processes with nuclear power.
Outcome
This research area will produce TEAs where industries are integrated with heat and power from nuclear energy that prove that life cycle analysis carbon dioxide emissions can be severely reduced while maintaining LWR viability through varied income sources (e.g., hydrogen, chemicals, and fuels) in the competitive range with conventional production methods after credits are considered. TEAs qualify and quantify regional electricity and product markets (i.e., hydrogen, fuels, and materials) around existing LWRs to show specific opportunities.
Planned Major Accomplishments
Complete a comprehensive analysis of the regional market TEA and identify potential opportunities in the Arizona region.
Perform studies of energy arbitrage where hydrogen storage can compete with utility-scale lithium-ion batteries.
Complete co-electrolysis and synthetic fuels and chemical integrations with LWRs in a future energy park centered around an LWR.
For more information, contact:
Richard D. Boardman
Flexible Plant Operation and Generation, Pathway Lead
Idaho National Laboratory