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The hydrogen technology information project will provide a report describing and evaluating the status and future prospect for generating hydrogen for use as an automotive fuel using energy derived from fission nuclear reactors. The work
will focus on hydrogen generation and reactor technologies that have a reasonable likelihood of being deployed within the next 50 years in the United States of America (USA). The work will also consider international programs for developing the hydrogen
economy in which the USA plays a major role.
Scope of Hydrogen Information Work:
The scope of work is divided into the tasks described below:
Task 1: Hydrogen Technology Review
The prospects for generating hydrogen for use as an automotive fuel using energy derived from fission nuclear reactors depend on integrating appropriate hydrogen generation
technologies with appropriate nuclear reactor technologies. In broad terms, technologies for generating hydrogen can be classified as thermo-chemical and electrolytic. These technologies place specific demands on the nuclear reactor in terms of operating
temperature and opportunities for co-generation of electrical power.
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) will review the publicly available technical literature to identify hydrogen generation technologies currently under consideration that would be compatible with or require energy from a nuclear reactor. The review will be
limited to determining the heat and operating cycles for these technologies as they relate to the design and operating characteristics of the supporting nuclear reactor. A detailed evaluation of the technical and economic feasibility of specific hydrogen
generation technologies is beyond the scope of this work.
SwRI will then review the fission reactor design and operating parameters that would be compatible with the various hydrogen generation technologies. The type of fission reactor will be determined by the requirements of the hydrogen generating technology and
the proposed deployment strategy. The evaluation will focus on reactor designs that are judged to dominate the available and demonstrable technologies for the 50-year time horizon being evaluated. For this reason, fission reactor requirements will be evaluated
in terms of:
Hydrogen generation energy requirements Alternative reactor designs and status Siting alternatives (large centralized facility versus distributed systems) Project reactor deployment dates
Fission Reactor DesignFor the reactor design, SwRI will consider such features as:
Reactor size more appropriate for particular hydrogen generation technologies and deployment alternatives Reactor types compatible with particular hydrogen generation technologies and deployment alternatives Reactor fuel requirements (type of fuel and refueling schedule) Spent fuel characteristics relevant to disposal
The reactor requirements and developmental status will be evaluated based on the publicly available technical literature, coupled with insights based on the technical expertise of SwRI staff. Based on this evaluation, SwRI will prepare
tables and charts cross-referencing reactor designs with potential hydrogen generation technologies and deployment options.
A detailed evaluation of the technical and economic feasibility of specific reactor designs is beyond the scope of this work.
Task 2: Identification of Economic and Infrastructure Considerations
The various possible combinations of hydrogen generation technologies, reactor designs, deployment strategies, and infrastructure demands
for producing hydrogen as an automotive fuel will affect the prospects for developing such facilities. SwRI will identify the issues that need to be considered to more fully characterize the prospect for actual deployment of such facilities, including the
anticipated evolution of the associated technologies and availability of nuclear fuel, and provide insights as to the likely future course or courses of action. This evaluation will focus on economic and societal conditions in the USA that could accelerate,
limit, or delay deployment of the infrastructure for large-scale availability of hydrogen for automotive fuel. Quantitative economic evaluations, fuel resource evaluations, and detailed engineering evaluation of these issues are outside the scope of work.
Task 3: Energy Policy, Permitting
Requirements, and Environmental Considerations
SwRI will provide a summary of U.S. Department of Energy research programs that relate to nuclear power generators and hydrogen production,
and evaluate how these programs might support realization of hydrogen automotive fuel infrastructure in the USA. Programs to be considered include the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative and the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy. SwRI will
identify the permitting requirements and regulatory factors that will likely control the long-term prospect for development of a large-scale hydrogen fuel infrastructure in the USA. Although full deployment of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure will involve
permitting and regulatory programs other than those dealing directly with nuclear power, such as pipeline safety and environmental impacts, the scope of work is limited to consideration of nuclear programs.
Task 4: Report
The work product of this project will be a report summarizing the results of the SwRI evaluation of the prospects of generating hydrogen as an automotive fuel using fission nuclear reactors.
2006 Hydrogen Technology Information Service
Subscriptions are still available to receive
the 2006 Hydrogen Technology Information Service report
"Prospects for Generation of Hydrogen as an Automotive Fuel
Using Nuclear Fission Reactors in the United States."
For more information about the 2006 hydrogen technology information program at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI,
please contact
Joe Redfield at
jredfield@swri.org or (210) 522-3729.
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