Framatome ANP - AREVA

and that’s mostly hydrogen demandto make cleaner gasoline and relatedliquid fuels, i.e., to sustain thestatus quo.Advanced gas reactors will take 10years to develop too, but the payoffis much bigger.World Consumption of H2 > 40M Tons/Yr.U.S. Consumption > 11M Tons/Yr. (48 GWth)• ~96% produced by steam methane reforming• Consumes 5% of our natural gas• Release 74 M tons of CO2/yrFor example, they are cooled withhelium, an inert, non-corrosive gas withsignificantly less contamination, unlikethe water circulating in today’s lightwater reactors. Second, they can bebuilt underground, making themterrorist hardened. They would bevirtually meltdown proof because oftheir physics. When they get too hot,the chain reaction stops automaticallyand the decay heat dissipates intothe ground around the plant. Noemergency plan beyond the plant’sfence is needed.But the most compelling advantage isthat, like all nuclear energy plants, thereare no air pollutants such as SO2,NOX, mercury or CO2. They alsowould reduce dependence on foreignoil and gas, reducing the world’sdependence on the unstable MiddleEast. And a hydrogen infrastructurewould be a great “battery” for whateversolar and wind power exists by storingtheir energy whenever the sun shines orthe wind blows.Farfetched? Yes, a transition to ahydrogen economy would take years.The good news is advanced nuclearenergy reactors lend themselves to aneasy, gradual transition.For example, today’s gasoline pumpscould be replaced with electrolysisunits, running on electricity and waterand making hydrogen at the stationto put in cars. Electrolysis unitsthemselves have an efficiencyapproaching 80 percent but an overallsystem efficiency of 25-40 percent,compared to the 33-50 percentefficiency of today’s electric system.The implementation could bestaged over time as the numberof hydrogen cars grows.Later advanced reactors which operateat 850-950ºC (1,562 -1,742ºF),compared to today’s light water reactoroperating at 315ºC (599ºF), are hotenough to split water into hydrogenand oxygen in a process calledthermo-chemical splitting. Suchreactors would reach 50 percentefficiency. For the first time, hydrogenwould be created in very large volumesat low cost that could be piped totoday’s gas filling stations.The unique combination of nuclearenergy and hydrogen can solve severalissues at once – energy security anddiversity, clean air, and reducedclimate change. ■Dan Keuter, Vice President of Nuclear Development, EntergyNuclear in Jackson, Mississippi, has been instrumental in growingEntergy Nuclear to its current position as the second largestoperator of nuclear power plants in the US. As Chairman ofthe Utility Advisory Board for an advanced gas-cooled reactor,he has been a strong advocate for the clean generationof hydrogen using nuclear power plants.Advanced Nuclear Power N O 7 April 2003 7