Hydrogen and its relationship with nuclear energy

In broad terms it is estimated that the world will need 17 TW of additional primary energy to meet its needs by 2050. Much of this growth in energy demand will take place in developing countries. Wind, biomass, solar, nuclear and coal will all compete to fill this gap as oil market share declines. Economics, environmental issues, and public acceptance elements of sustainable development goals will be as important as the engineering issues of efficiency and reliability in this competition.Nuclear power is increasingly recognized as a principal contender to provide economic, “carbon free” electricity for the grid, but it does not directly provide a transportation fuel as flexible as is gasoline. Nuclear-produced hydrogen might help to fill this transportation fuel gap. This presentation will discuss the processes for manufacture of hydrogen from nuclear heat, and the integration of nuclear-produced hydrogen into the transportation fuel system – in part via synergies with traditional oil, natural gas and coal, and/or synergies with nontraditional shale and tar sands. We will discuss the nuclear hydrogen system as we expect it to appear in 2050 and will discuss some of processes that will provide a pathway to creating that system.