chopchopped OP t1_isnqil6 wrote on October 17, 2022 at 10:49 AM

SS-In order to meet the increasing global demand for hydrogen, the U.S. DOE is looking for ways to scale-up hydrogen production, including nuclear. Nuclear power plants can produce hydrogen in a variety of methods, taking advantage of the constant thermal energy and electricity it provides. As Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation Energy, described, “Clean hydrogen is an essential tool in addressing the climate crisis, and in a few short months we will demonstrate to the world how essential carbon-free nuclear energy is to unlock its potential.”

pressonacott t1_ispj0ff wrote on October 17, 2022 at 7:08 PM

And they said " it's too hard and impossible to produce hydrogen to supply for transportation and infrastructure."

-Elon musk maybe

The_RealKeyserSoze t1_isqh8aj wrote on October 17, 2022 at 11:03 PM

Eh, PCEVs and BEVs wont compete for some time. They are both superior to ICEs and have their own pros/cons. It’s likely we will see a mix of both going forward.

pressonacott t1_isqhwe4 wrote on October 17, 2022 at 11:09 PM

You say for some time. But when that time comes hydrogen will be a leading factor. Electric vehicles are great but for logistics not so much.

Alantsu t1_ispng3t wrote on October 17, 2022 at 7:37 PM

It’s not the production that’s the problem, it’s the transportation. This solves nothing.

Testdepth634 t1_ispu7bz wrote on October 17, 2022 at 8:21 PM

Respectfully, No. it’s matching supply and demand for greener H2. Thanks to steam methane reformation, H2 can be easily produced and packed into ammonia via the Haber-Bosch process for easy transportation. However this process uses methane as the feed stock and therefor a big carbon footprint. Using a strip of nuc power and electrolysis facilitates the same thing with almost no carbon footprint. Furthermore the waste hear from the reactor can improve the efficiency of the conversation.

sarrcom t1_isrijzr wrote on October 18, 2022 at 4:06 AM

I did not understand the last sentence. Can you elaborate, please?

Testdepth634 t1_isy0pi7 wrote on October 19, 2022 at 3:09 PM

Some forms of electrolysis (especially solid oxide) require heat that they can make themselves - but at the cost of reduced efficiency. If they can get the heat “free” somewhere else - such as near an industrial process or generator that gives off heat, the efficiency of the entire process can approach 100% - hence why they proposing collocating nuclear and electrolysis .