Full Title: Advanced Nuclear Process Heat for Industrial Decarbonization
Author(s): Tess Moran and Doug Vine
Publisher(s): Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)
Publication Date: July 1, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
The industrial sector is responsible for about 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these emissions come from the heat needed for industrial processes in subsectors such as steel, concrete, chemicals, and glass production, since these subsectors typically rely on lowcost, high emitting fossil fuels as their primary source for uninterrupted thermal energy. To reduce dependence on fossil fuels and achieve decarbonization targets, nonemitting heat sources that meet the unique challenges of powering the industrial sector must be further developed and deployed in the near future. Advanced nuclear technologies could play both direct and indirect roles in providing such heat, and their inherent safety, siting flexibility modularity, and small land footprint could enable cost-effective deployment at a wide range of locations.
Existing nuclear power plants and new advanced nuclear reactors could directly provide heat at a range of temperatures and at the high capacity factors (i.e., almost always on availability) needed by many industrial users, which means nuclear reactors could effectively replace much of the heat currently generated by fossil fuels. In addition, electricity from advanced reactors could power electrified heat options (e.g., industrial heat pumps) and production of zero-carbon hydrogen, as well as carbon capture technology that could further decarbonize industry.
Accelerating the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors faces a range of challenges, including cost concerns, regulatory delays, supply chain risks, inadequate workforce, lack of a long-term plan for storage of nuclear waste, non-proliferation concerns, and opposition from some states and communities. Recent policy actions in Congress, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have sought to mitigate some of these challenges, including through robust funding for nuclear deployments, support for boosting domestic nuclear fuel production, and development of new regulatory review pathways.