Pink hydrogen produced by nuclear power could soon be cost-competitive with green and blue hydrogen, according to Brussels-based nuclear industry group Foratom.

Nuclear power plants produce large amounts of electricity and heat, both of which can be used to make low-carbon hydrogen.

Existing reactors can power electrolysis to produce green hydrogen, while after 2030 thermochemical water-splitting using advanced modular reactors could offer an alternative mode of production. China is also developing very-high-temperature reactors, which can split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

"Nuclear power can make a strong contribution to the hydrogen transition. We are talking about large, stable volumes of low-carbon hydrogen,” Andrei Goicea, policy director at Foratom, tells Hydrogen Economist.

“The focus now is on electrolysers, which is a proven technology although not yet mature. At a later stage, hydrogen produced by high-temperature steam methane will also be developed.”

1 GW – Size of planned electrolyser at Felixstowe and Harwich ports

The nuclear industry has been facing a number of challenges since Fukushima. Several countries in Europe are phasing out nuclear power: Germany will close its last reactors next year, and Belgium has pledged to do the same by 2025.

The drawbacks of nuclear power plants include high upfront costs, long lead times and public opposition. But the ability to produce large amounts of hydrogen could help prolong the lifetime of existing reactors and attract investment in new plants.

In the UK, French utility EDF has tabled several plans for hydrogen production at the existing 1.2GW Sizewell B and planned 3.2GW Sizewell C nuclear power plants using electrolysis.

Among the more ambitious projects is a 1GW electrolyser that could deliver 145,000t/yr of hydrogen to supply road vehicles and ships at the Felixstowe and Harwich ports by 2030. The project falls under the proposed Freeport East Hydrogen Hub in Suffolk, one of eight new Freeports announced by Rishi Sunak, UK chancellor of the exchequer, in his March 2021 Budget.

French-Russian partnership

EDF and Russia’s state-owned Rosatom also announced earlier this year that they would collaborate on hydrogen projects in Russia and Europe using nuclear technologies, for example electrolysis or methane conversion with carbon capture and storage.

Many of Russia’s 11 nuclear power plants are not running at full capacity due to excess power supply in some regions, offering an opportunity for the development of green hydrogen projects.

Rosatom’s press office tells Hydrogen Economist that the company is developing a pilot project for hydrogen production at its 1.8GW nuclear power plant on the Kola peninsula in the Arctic circle. The first stage will be a 1MW electrolyser that will later be increased to 10MW. Rosatom says this technology may be scaled up and extended to other Russian nuclear power plants in the future to supply hydrogen to households, industry and transport. 

The company also says it is carrying out research to develop a nuclear high-temperature gas-cooled reactor to produce low-carbon hydrogen on a large scale after 2030. Rosatom also has plans for hydrogen exports to east Asian markets.

The ability of nuclear reactors to produce large volumes of baseload electricity and heat with virtually no emissions gives them an advantage over intermittent renewables.

And once built, the operational costs of nuclear reactors are not exposed to large fluctuations in commodity prices, as uranium is a comparatively cheaper fuel than natural gas, with lower price volatility. This could make pink hydrogen increasingly cost-competitive if oil and gas prices rise.

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Author: Andreas Walstad