(Oswego / USA) – Hydrogen is now being produced at the Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant in Oswego, New York. This is a “nuclear milestone,” commented the US Department of Energy: the plant is “the first of its kind in the United States to produce clean hydrogen using nuclear energy.”
Low temperature electrolysis system at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Power Plant. © Constellation Energy
The nuclear power plant is part of a $14,5 million (13,7 million euros) project shared between the Department of Energy (DOE) and Constellation Energy Corp. split. The electricity company uses the hydrogen produced on site to cool the power plant and sees itself as the “largest provider of carbon-free energy” in the USA. Previously, the delivery of hydrogen from fossil fuels was always done by truck. Nine Mile Point will “show the world that nuclear energy is the most efficient and cost-effective way to produce it from a carbon-free resource,” said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation .
New tasks for old nuclear power plants
The Nine Mile Point Nuclear Power Plant began commercial operation in 1969 and is the oldest in the United States. The operating license for Unit 1 ends in 2029; For Unit 2 (construction began in 1974, commissioning in 1988), the operating license runs until 2046. Owner and operator Constellation Energy is part of Exelon Generation Co., LLC.
The DOE is investing billions through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to further develop clean hydrogen production in the United States. The goal is to reduce the cost of hydrogen by 80 percent to one dollar per kilogram within a decade.
The ministry is funding three similar projects of this type Demonstration projects:
- Energy Harbor Corp. want in Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant (Oak Harbor, Ohio) will also install a low-temperature electrolysis system to demonstrate “the economic benefits of clean hydrogen production.” Production is scheduled to begin in 2023 and the proceeds will be sold regionally, for example as fuel for a local bus fleet. The owner is Nuclear Gen Corp.
- Bloom Energy and owner Xcel Energy Inc. work at the nuclear plant Prairie Island (Red Wing, Minnesota) on a project to demonstrate high-temperature electrolysis. Hydrogen production is expected to begin in early 2024. Reactors 1 and 2 went into operation in 1973 and 1974.
- At the power plant Green pole (Tonopah, Arizona) will build a low-temperature electrolysis system and use the hydrogen to generate electricity during times of high demand or to produce chemicals and other fuels. The project could begin production in 2024, pending completion of negotiations with owner and operator Arizona Public Service Co. The nuclear power plant was commissioned in 1986.
About 95 percent of the hydrogen produced in the United States is currently made from fossil fuels, according to the Department of Energy. In the USA – and in some other countries – hydrogen is declared “clean” if no climate-damaging gases are emitted during its production at the place where the electricity is generated. In contrast, in many other countries, hydrogen is only climate-neutral and “clean” if the electricity for electrolysis comes from renewable energies.
Photos
The “Nine Mile Point” nuclear power plant in Oswego, New York, USA, begins producing “clean” hydrogen. © Constellation Energy
