Nuclear Production of Hydrogen, Fourth Information Exchange ...

NUCLEAR SAFETY AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS FOR NUCLEAR HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
Introduction
The use of nuclear power plants to produce hydrogen or for other process heat applications at
chemical or petroleum facilities will introduce some challenges to the licensing of the nuclear plants
by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The use of a nuclear power plant to support
hydrogen production is an important part of the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) programme
that is being co-ordinated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in accordance with the Energy Policy
Act of 2005 (EPAct). A licensing strategy for an NGNP prototype reactor was prepared by a joint working
group of staff from DOE and NRC (DOE/NRC, 2008). As part of the NGNP programme, the NRC staff
evaluated potential safety and regulatory issues to identify possible research needs, policy concerns
and licensing approaches. These efforts included the completion of a phenomena identification and
ranking tables (PIRT) evaluation related to process heat and hydrogen co-generation (NRC, 2008).
Licensing approaches
The EPAct assigns the development of the NGNP reactor design and deployment to the DOE and
requires that it be licensed by the NRC. In the development of the NGNP licensing strategy, the DOE
and NRC considered the various possible approaches that are available using existing NRC regulations.
The NRC maintains two general approaches to the licensing of nuclear power plants. The first set of
licensing regulations is defined in Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50)
and includes the combination of construction permits and operating licenses. This licensing approach
was used for the existing operating plants in the United States and is similar to the regulatory approach
in many other countries. While offering possible advantages in terms of experience and a possible
earlier start for the construction programme, the traditional licensing process under 10 CFR Part 50
included problems for the licensing process such as continual design changes during construction,
evolving regulatory requirements between licensing reviews for construction and operations, and
legal hearings held for both construction permits and operating licenses. Figure 1 shows the history of
the time period in years between issuance of construction permits and operating licenses for nuclear
plants operating in the United States.
Figure 1: Duration of construction for US operating nuclear power plants
Duration of Construction
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Jan-69
Jan-71
Jan-73
Jan-75
Jan-77
Jan-79
Jan-81
Jan-83
Jan-85
Jan-87
Jan-89
Jan-91
Jan-93
Jan-95
Jan-97
Jan-99
OL Issuance
Although the duration of construction was influenced by various factors, including the accident
at Three Mile Island, economic conditions and power needs, the history and trend of extended times
to obtain operating licenses was a motivation for the development of an alternate licensing process,
which is defined in 10 CFR Part 52. The licensing process in 10 CFR Part 52 involves the possible
submittal of a nuclear power plant design for certification and the approval of specific sites via an
356 NUCLEAR PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN – © OECD/NEA 2010