PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN USING NUCLEAR ENERGY

One of the leading methods for the future production of hydrogen (H2) is nuclear energy. The fundamental characteristics of nuclear energy offer several potential advantages for H2 production: avoidance of the production of greenhouse gases, production of H2 near the final market, economics-of-scale that match the need for H2, and availability of large resources of uranium fuel. Several types of reactors are being considered for H2 production, and several methods exist to produce H2, including thermochemical cycles (heat plus water yields H2 and oxygen) and high-temperature electrolysis (heat plus electricity plus water yields H2 and oxygen). Ultimately H2, not electricity, may be the primary application of nuclear energy. Hydrogen from nuclear energy may in fact become the enabling technology for a large-scale renewable-nuclear economy.