Advancements in High-temperature Electrolysis and the Shift Toward Hydrogen Economy will provide Competitive Intensity to Nuclear Hydrogen Production
While clean energy resources are replacing fossil fuels, hydrogen has emerged as an attractive path to decarbonizing the industrial sector, demonstrating strong potential to have a substantial impact on the energy and transportation sectors. With its high energy density and ability to provide heat and electricity to produce low-cost hydrogen on a large scale, nuclear power can be a crucial enabler of the hydrogen economy. Moreover, it can pair with steam methane reforming (SMR) processes and with electrolyzer and thermochemical processes, making it a unique technology. Established hydrogen production and nuclear energy technologies are undergoing significant improvements to increase hydrogen yield and reduce cost and electricity utilization in the production process.
This study covers the recent advancements in nuclear hydrogen production, including an overview of the current technology trends and key factors driving the adoption and development of next-generation nuclear hydrogen production technologies. The study segments nuclear hydrogen production into 5 types of technologies: SMR, low-temperature electrolysis, high-temperature electrolysis, thermochemical water splitting, and thermochemical electrolysis hybrid systems. A comparative analysis of the different hydrogen production technologies, including technology descriptions and cost economies, has been provided. The study also provides an overview of the role of nuclear energy, evaluating the scope of nuclear hydrogen production in providing crucial hydrogen production pathways. It includes a patent landscape and identifies the drivers, restraints, and growth opportunities defining this market.
Table of Contents
1. Strategic Imperatives
- Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow? The Strategic Imperative 8™: Factors Creating Pressure on Growth
- The Strategic Imperative 8™
- The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the Nuclear Hydrogen Industry
- Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine™
- Research Methodology
2. Growth Opportunity Analysis
- Scope of Analysis
- Segmentation
- Growth Drivers
- Growth Restraints
3. Technology Snapshot
- Nuclear Hydrogen: Technology Introduction and Attributes
- Nuclear Power to be an Enabler of the Hydrogen Economy
- Nuclear Hydrogen Production Pathways
- Nuclear: SMR Hybrid
- Nuclear: Alkaline Electrolysis Hybrid
- Nuclear: PEM Electrolysis Hybrid
- Nuclear: SOEC Hybrid
- Thermochemical Water Splitting: Sulfur-iodine (S-I) Cycle
- Hybrid Water Cycle: Westinghouse Cycle/Hybrid Sulfur Cycle
- Pairing Nuclear Heat with Conventional SMR offers Lowest-cost Hydrogen Production in the Short Term
4. Nuclear Hydrogen Landscape: Key Innovations
- Stackable SOEC for Hydrogen Production
- SOEC offering Low-energy Consumption for Clean Hydrogen Production
- SOEC capable of producing High-purity Oxygen from Steam and Carbon Dioxide
- High-temperature Gas-cooled Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) for Large-scale Hydrogen Production
- Reversible Solid Oxide Cells for Electricity and Hydrogen Production
- Recently Announced Nuclear Hydrogen Projects
5. Patent Landscape
- China Leads in Nuclear Hydrogen R&D Activity
6. Growth Opportunity Universe
- Growth Opportunity 1: Pink Hydrogen
- Growth Opportunity 2: High-temperature Electrolysis (HTE) and Thermochemical Hydrogen Production
- Growth Opportunity 3: Energy Security
7. Appendix
- Technology Readiness Levels (TRL): Explanation
8. Next Steps
- Your Next Steps
- Why Now?
