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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Field Test Plan for Underground Hydrogen Storage Demonstration in a Porous Reservoir

Climate and sea level change is causing numerous challenges across the globe to human societies and the cultural and infrastructure investments they have made over hundreds of years based on previous modalities in climate and sea level. Decarbonizing our global economy is therefore essential to stopping additional emissions of CO 2 to the atmosphere. One proposed decarbonization technology that has been advanced as a replacement for the “hydrocarbon economy” that exists today is the “hydrogen economy.” In the hydrogen economy, hydrogen is both an energy carrier and an industrial feedstock that can replace hydrocarbons’ traditional roles in these systems. While most hydrogen is produced from conventional, fossil-based feedstocks, hydrogen comes with the added benefits of being able to be made from water and electricity providing a promising way to store renewable energy from wind and solar developments.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2016

Implications of Zero-Carbon Nuclear Renewable Economy: Equity, Economics, and Social Costs

Different energy systems have different impacts on equity, economics, and social costs of energy. This leads to alternative strategies for a zero-carbon economy from considering all options to a renewables-only strategy. We examine implications of different choices from a long-term perspective. This is coupled to but separate from the discussion of how to transition to a low-carbon energy system. If we are to stop greenhouse gas emissions with current goals, the transition must be fast. That requires a large nuclear contribution. Experiences in France and Sweden indicate that one can transition the electric grid from fossil fuels to nuclear in 20 to 25 years if it is a priority. Neither renewables with associated storage and transmission nor carbon capture and sequestration for fossil fuel use in electricity generation are available today at competitive costs to do that. The cost of energy has historically been a major factor in determining where industry and cities are built because it is a large fraction of the global economy. The development of low-cost methods to transport coal, oil, and natural gas partly broke that connection by enabling relatively uniform global energy costs. Nuclear energy because of the low-cost of fuel transport has the same characteristic. Renewables are location dependent. In a renewables-only future, the renewable resources distribution determines local energy costs that directly impacts where there is future economic growth and where there will be lower costs of living. In the U.S. today solar is generally uneconomic. Some Great Plains wind is competitive. Offshore wind is uneconomic. Based on projections of renewables costs, an all-renewable U.S. would see (1) movement of industry and people to between the Mississippi River (water and transportation) and the high plains (high wind velocities and low construction costs) and the southwest and (2) growing regional differences in standards of living. The costs of moving energy from renewables long distances is partly because of the high cost of transport systems (high-voltage lines with low capacity factors, hydrogen inter-conversion losses, etc.) and partly because of the non-dispatchability of renewables. A nuclear renewable world will have large variations in the relative amounts of nuclear, wind and solar with location-reflecting local cost of renewable resources. The deployment of wind and solar would be similar to hydro and geothermal-deployed where there is a concentrated resource. In the U.S. and globally this will likely be the norm because countries with limited access to low-cost renewables will not accept lower standards of living. The relative quantities of nuclear, wind and solar will change with relative advances in energy technologies. Energy is a large fraction of the economy; thus, energy choices have major economic, equity, and social implications. That, in turn, impacts standards of living and economic competitiveness. (authors)

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Engineering Ralstonia eutropha for Production of Isobutanol (IBT) Motor Fuel from Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen, and Oxygen Project Final Report

This research project is a collaboration between the Sinskey laboratory at MIT and the Worden laboratory at Michigan State University. The goal of the project is to produce Isobutanol (IBT), a branched-chain alcohol that can serve as a drop-in transportation fuel, through the engineered microbial biosynthesis of Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen, and Oxygen using a novel bioreactor. This final technical report presents the findings of both the biological engineering work at MIT that extended the native branched-chain amino acid pathway of the wild type Ralstonia eutropha H16 to perform this biosynthesis, as well as the unique design, modeling, and construction of a bioreactor for incompatible gasses at Michigan State that enabled the operational testing of the complete system. This 105 page technical report summarizing the three years of research includes 72 figures and 11 tables of findings. Ralstonia eutropha (also known as Cupriavidus necator) is a Gram-negative, facultatively chemolithoautotrophic bacteria. It has been the principle organism used for the study of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) polymer biosynthesis. The wild-type Ralstonia eutropha H16 produces PHB as an intracellular carbon storage material while under nutrient stress in the presence of excess carbon. Under this stress, it can accumulate approximately 80 % of its cell dry weight (CDW) as this intracellular polymer. With the restoration of the required nutrients, the cells are then able to catabolize this polymer. If extracted from the cell, this PHB polymer can be processed into biodegradable and biocompatible plastics, however for this research, it is the efficient metabolic pathway channeling the captured carbon that is of interest. R. eutropha is further unique in that it contains two carbon-fixation Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle operons, two oxygen-tolerant hydrogenases, and several formate dehydrogenases. It has also been much studied for its ability in the presence of oxygen, to fix carbon dioxide into complex cellular molecules using the energy from hydrogen. In this research project, engineered strains of R. eutropha redirected the excess carbon from PHB storage into the production of isobutanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol (branched-chain higher alcohols). These branched-chain higher alcohols can be used directly as substitutes for fossil-based fuels and are seen as alternative biofuels to ethanol and biodiesel. Importantly, these alcohols have approximately 98 % of the energy content of gasoline, 17 % higher than the current gasoline additive ethanol, without impacting corn market production for feed or food. Unlike ethanol, these branched-chain alcohols have low vapor pressure, hygroscopicity, and water solubility, which make them readily compatible with the existing pipelines, gasoline pumps, and engines in our transportation infrastructure. While the use of alternative energies from solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric has spread for stationary power applications, these energy sources cannot be effectively or efficiently employed in current or future transportation systems. With the ongoing concerns of fossil fuel availability and price stability over the long term, alternative biofuels like branched-chain higher alcohols hold promise as a suitable transportation fuel in the future. We showed in our research that various mutant strains of R. eutropha with isobutyraldehyde dehydrogenase activity, in combination with the overexpression of plasmid-borne, native branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis pathway genes and the overexpression of heterologous ketoisovalerate decarboxylase gene, would produce isobutanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol when initiated during nitrogen or phosphorus limitation. Early on, we isolated one mutant R. eutropha strain which produced over 180 mg/L branched-chain alcohols in flask culture while being more tolerant of isobutanol toxicity. After the targeted elimination of genes encoding several potential carbon sinks (ilvE, bkdAB, and aceE), the production titer of the improved to 270 mg/L isobutanol and 40 mg/L 3-methyl-1-butanol. Semicontinuous flask cultivation supplied the cells with sufficient nutrients while minimizing the toxicity caused by isobutanol. Under this cultivation, the R. eutropha mutant grew and produced more than 14 g/L branched-chain alcohols over the duration of 50 days. These results demonstrate that R. eutropha carbon flux can be redirected from PHB to branched-chain alcohols and that engineered R. eutropha can be cultivated over prolonged periods of time for product biosynthesis. While this bioengineering work was being done at the Sinskey laboratory at MIT, the researchers at the Worden laboratory at Michigan State were working on the design and construction of the required specialty bioreactor for incompatible gasses (BIG) that would allow the safe feeding of microbes on Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen, and Oxygen without explosive results. The early design and assembly work in year 1 incorporated a novel microbubble generator to maximize the bioavailability of gasses within the system comprised of small scale hollow fiber reactors. The early success of the microbubble generator eliminated the need to investigate potentially toxic surfactants within the system. For operational control, the system design incorporated a Opto22-based control network. The researchers also selected the specific hollow fiber material suitable for the bioreactor application. A variety of commercially available hollow fiber membranes were compared with regard to their pore sizes, cell affinity, and potential interference to cell viability assays. The selected membrane with its spongy layer was then tested for diffusivity of O2 and CO2. The instrumented system was then fully assembled for experimentally measuring the heterotrophic growth rate of immobilized R. eutropha cells. The requisite procedures for inoculation, measurement, and cleaning were established enabling the system performance to be validated under controlled laboratory conditions. In year 2, the researchers completed the Opto22 based cross-platform control network, and the system’s communications across the Sartorius fermentation system and Bruker gas chromatograph was established via open platform communications (OPC) protocol. Using the revised system, measurements were taken of the R.eutropha cell growth rate and substrate mass transfer rate in the hollow fiber membrane. Several IBT recovery strategies were explored and resin adsorption was determined to be optimal solution for lab scale operations. The adsorption capacity of the resin column was then measured and IBT desorption using methanol has been demonstrated. With the growing body of experimental data in hand, mathematical models were constructed to demonstrate and map the cellular kinetics, mass transfer of heterotrophic and autotrophic substrates in the hollow fiber, and the adsorption process in the resin column. A structured kinetic model was constructed to describe the competition between cell mass generation and IBT production. The reactor was then scaled up from single fiber to a membrane area of 180 cm2 and then further to 1 ft2. In Year 3 of the research, the IBT mass transfer across the membrane was characterized within the system with experiments to empirically measure the IBT diffusion coefficient in the BIG spongy layer. Using the refined mathematical models, the researchers are now able to explain the experimental observations and predict bioreactor performance under a wide range of experimental conditions. The Big system is able to demonstrate continuous controlled operations with the integrated IBT recovery system. Both heterotrophic and autotrophic production have been shown during continuous operation with heterotrophic and autotrophic stages. Performance of BIG system has been measured during continuous run with alternating heterotrophic growth on fructose and autotrophic product formation on H2, CO2, and O2. Volumetric productivities of IBT at 325 mg/(L day) and of 3M1B at 50 mg/(L day) were achieved, which were comparable to that achieved under heterotrophic conditions. Using the mathematical model, researchers are able to predict system performance for scaled-up BIG system. The apparent diffusion coefficient of IBT in the spongy layer of XM-50 hollow fiber membranes has been measured at various lumen liquid flow rates. The experiment is simulated in COMSOL to validate the results. The constructed COMSOL model is able to simulate BIG system performance in both batch and continuous mode. Mathematical simulations of the system performance have been run to identify the most crucial operational conditions, identifying the rate-limiting factors in autotrophic production of IBT, and quantitating the rate of IBT catabolism. Investigations of the productivity of the production system have suggested and the modeling of the system has revealed a particular sensitivity to the catabolism of the produced IBT by the engineered R. eutropha. Experiments have been designed and executed to quantify the IBT catabolism of R. eutropha, which open up possibilities for further system improvements through future, targeted bioengineering of the strain. Finally, the researchers at Michigan State performed an economic analysis of the system, based on the collective results, and their findings are presented in full within the report.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2013

Trade-offs of different land and bioenergy policies on the path to achieving climate targets

Many papers have shown that bioenergy and land-use are potentially important elements in a strategy to limit anthropogenic climate change. But, significant expansion of bioenergy production can have a large terrestrial footprint. In this paper, we test the implications for land use, the global energy system, carbon cycle, and carbon prices of meeting a specific climate target, using a single fossil fuel and industrial sector policy instrument—the carbon tax, but with five alternative bioenergy and land-use policy architectures. We find that the policies we examined have differing effects on the different segments of the economy. Comprehensive land policies can reduce land-use change emissions, increasing allowable emissions in the energy system, but have implications for the cost of food. Bioenergy taxes and constraints, on the other hand, have little effect on food prices, but can result in increased carbon and energy prices.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Leveraging chiral induced spin selectivity to improve the efficiency and selectivity of electrocatalytic reduction

Energy production is a fundamental pillar of modern society, but it remains heavily reliant on fossil fuel combustion, which leads to environmental degradation and resource depletion. Electrocatalytic reduction reactions (ERRs) offer a cleaner alternative by functioning under mild conditions, eliminating the need for high temperatures or pressures. However, their widespread adoption is hindered by challenges such as low efficiency, inadequate selectivity, and sluggish kinetics. Here, the introduction of chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) offers a promising strategy to address these limitations by reducing energy barriers in reactions involving spin-sensitive intermediates or transition states. By leveraging CISS, ERR pathways can be manipulated to favor desired reactions, enhance product yield, and suppress unwanted byproducts, improving selectivity. Beyond reducing the impact of competing side reactions, CISS also enhances the kinetics of ERRs by accelerating reaction rates and lowering the energy barriers associated with multi-electron transfer steps. Thanks to its straightforward and versatile application, CISS shows significant potential in optimizing well-studied ERRs, such as the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), facilitating the future transition of these technologies from research laboratories to commercial energy plants worldwide.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

New Tool Evaluates the Financial Viability of Pumped Storage Hydropower

The rapidly evolving electricity system with increasing variable renewable energy (VRE) resources provides both opportunities and challenges for the power sector. With the significant ramps and intermittency associated with VRE resources, the requirements and need for additional flexible resources increase. Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) provides flexibility to the electricity grid to replace fossil fuel plants, which are responsible for 25% of U.S. emissions. PSH projects support various aspects of power system operations, including flexibility, ramping capability, energy, ancillary service, black start, and others. The significant potential of hydropower requires understanding the different value drivers to the electricity system specific to the location of a project and then optimizing the plant for the different system values. Thus, determining the value of PSH projects and their many services and contributions to the electricity system can be a challenge for potential developers, system owners, regulators, policy makers, and consultants.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Characterization of Flexible Operation Performance of N-R HES Components in support of a Model-Based Pre-conditioner

The concept of Nuclear-Renewable Hybrid Energy Systems (N-R HES) is meant to combine different energy technologies in synergistic ways to achieve a more secure and economical energy supply. The N-R HES unit is constituted by a small-sized pressurized water reactor coupled with a Rankine energy conversion cycle, a gas-fired turbine, an energy storage component, and a hydrogen production plant.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2017

The Future of Low-Carbon Electricity

We review future global demand for electricity and major technologies positioned to supply it with minimal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: renewables (wind, solar, water, geothermal, and biomass), nuclear fission, and fossil power with CO2 capture and sequestration. We discuss two breakthrough technologies (space solar power and nuclear fusion) as exciting but uncertain additional options for low-net GHG emissions (i.e., low-carbon) electricity generation. In addition, we discuss grid integration technologies (monitoring and forecasting of transmission and distribution systems, demand-side load management, energy storage, and load balancing with low-carbon fuel substitutes). For each topic, recent historical trends and future prospects are reviewed, along with technical challenges, costs, and other issues as appropriate. Although no technology represents an ideal solution, their strengths can be enhanced by deployment in combination, along with grid integration that forms a critical set of enabling technologies to assure a reliable and robust future low-carbon electricity system.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Transportation Energy: A Comparison Including and Excluding Upstream Energy

Thirty-eight editions of the Transportation Energy Data Book (Data Book) have been published since the report began in 1976. It was designed as a desk-top reference of statistics and information that characterize transportation activity. The most recent Data Book, edition 38, has 226 tables and 70 figures in the body of the report, with an additional 51 tables in appendices. One of the most-often used tables in the Data Book is referred to by the authors as “the big energy table.” It has transportation energy use in British thermal units (Btu) by mode and fuel type. The data are compiled from about 20 different sources and combined to create a detailed picture of transportation energy use. From the first edition to edition 35 of the Data Book, electricity use in the big energy table was converted from the original kilowatt-hours (kWh) to Btu using the net generation heat rate for fossil fuels. In those days, electricity was used mainly by transit rail. As electricity began to be used in the highway modes with consumer sales of electric vehicles, that process was revisited. Since energy use in the Data Book’s big energy table for all other fuels did not include the upstream energy to create the fuel, it seemed inconsistent to include upstream energy for generation of electricity. Beginning with edition 36, electricity use for the big energy table was converted from kilowatt hours to Btu using the heat content of electricity. Using heat content instead of net generation reduced electricity use data by about two-thirds. Feedback in recent years on the change in process for electricity led to an investigation of the differences in transportation energy use when adding estimates of upstream energy use to all the fuels used in transportation. This report documents the result of that effort.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2018

Potential impacts of China's climate policies on energy security

Highlights: • We develop an energy security assessment framework in a 3E-integrated system model. • The potential relations between climate targets and energy security are examined. • Climate policy reduces risks of energy system in terms of main safety metrics. • The impact of emission budgets on energy diversity relies on the time scale options. • Co-benefits of energy security would improve the economics of climate policies. - Abstract: Energy security, as an indispensable constituent of economic security, has long been a top research priority, and the dynamics of energy security become particularly complicated with the involvement of climate change. In this work, we combined a one-sector integrated assessment framework with a series of well-proposed energy security metrics to extensively explore the unidirectional consistency between climate policy and energy security from the national perspective. Implementation of climate policy is generally beneficial for improving energy security. Specifically, climate policy helps to reduce the systematic risk of China's energy system according to the metrics of energy (oil) intensity, energy (oil) expenditures and per capita energy (oil) consumption independent of time scale options. As observed from the perspective of energy diversity, co-benefits arising from climate policy primarily emerge in the first half of this century, and they may gradually decline as emission constraints and the phasing out of fossil fuels are enhanced. Additionally, the macroeconomic costs required to reach China's committed carbon-peaking target might be far lower than the costs required to fulfill the emission budgets under the global 2-degree warming rise threshold. If the co-benefits of energy security are considered, the economics of climate policy is expected to significantly improve.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Comparative study of microfacies variation in two samples from the Chittenango member, Marcellus shale subgroup, western New York state, USA

This study demonstrates the significant lithologic variations that occur within the two shale samples from the Chittenango member of the Marcellus shale formation from western New York State in terms of mineralogical composition, type of lamination, pyrite occurrences and fossil content using thin section detailed description and field emission Scanning electron microscope (FESEM) with energy dispersive X-Ray Spectrum (EDX). This study is classified samples as laminated clayshale and fossiliferous carbonaceous shale. The most important detrital constituents of these shales are the clay mineral illite and chlorite, quartz, organic matter, carbonate mineral, and pyrite. The laminated clayshale has a lower amount of quartz and carbonate minerals than fossiliferous carbonaceous shale while it has a higher amount of clay minerals (chlorite and illite) and organic matter. FESEM analysis confirms the presence of chlorite and illite. The fossil content in the laminated clayshale is much lower than the fossiliferous carbonaceous shale. This can provide greater insights about variations in the depositional and environmental factors that influenced its deposition. This result can be compiled with the sufficient data to be helpful for designing the horizontal wells and placement of hydraulic fracturing in shale gas exploration and production.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1988

Energy requirements for HE-3 mining operations on the Moon

At the present rate of world energy consumption (10 TW-y/y) and allowing for an equilibrium consumption of 20 to 30 TW-y/y in mid 21st century, we will exhaust economically recoverable fossil fuels in the next 50 to 60 years. We will then have to rely on nuclear (fission and fusion) and renewable energy to feed, warm, and protect the world's population. Fusion energy is expected to play an important role in the 21st century and there a 2 billion dollar per year research program to commercialize that energy resource. A serious problem with this is its reliance on the D-T fuel cycle which releases 80 percent of its energy in the form of neutrons. These neutrons cause significant radiation damage and induce large amounts of radioactivity. There is another fusion fuel cycle involving the isotopes of Deuterium and Helium-3 which, if configured properly, releases 1 percent or less of its energy in neutrons. Obviously, such a fuel would be preferred, but there is no large source of He-3 known to satisfy world energy needs. Fortunately, a very large source of He-3 was found on the Moon, implanted over the past 4 billion years by the solar wind. Recent analysis of Apollo and Luna data reveals that over a million tons of He-3 sit on the Moon's surface. The potential energy in this He-3 fuel is 10 times that contained in all the coal, oil, and natural gas on the Earth. The purpose of this paper is to examine the energy required to extract the He-3 from the lunar regolith.

Kulcinski, Gerald L.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Water-Related Power Plant Curtailments: An Overview of Incidents and Contributing Factors

Water temperatures and water availability can affect the reliable operations of power plants in the United States. Data on water-related impacts on the energy sector are not consolidated and are reported by multiple agencies. This study provides an overview of historical incidents where water resources have affected power plant operations, discusses the various data sources providing information, and creates a publicly available and open access database that contains consolidated information about water-related power plant curtailment and shut-down incidents. Power plants can be affected by water resources if incoming water temperatures are too high, water discharge temperatures are too high, or if there is not enough water available to operate. Changes in climate have the potential to exacerbate uncertainty over water resource availability and temperature. Power plant impacts from water resources include curtailment of generation, plant shut-downs, and requests for regulatory variances. In addition, many power plants have developed adaptation approaches to reducing the potential risks of water-related issues by investing in new technologies or developing and implementing plans to undertake during droughts or heatwaves. This study identifies 42 incidents of water-related power plant issues from 2000-2015, drawing from a variety of different datasets. These incidents occur throughout the U.S., and affect coal and nuclear plants that use once-through, recirculating, and pond cooling systems. In addition, water temperature violations reported to the Environmental Protection Agency are also considered, with 35 temperature violations noted from 2012-2015. In addition to providing some background information on incidents, this effort has also created an open access database on the Open Energy Information platform that contains information about water-related power plant issues that can be updated by users.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cryogenic Carbon Capture™ (CCC) Status Report

The Cryogenic Carbon Capture™ (CCC) process separates CO2 from light gases in essentially any continuous process. CCC cools the gases to the frost or desublimation point of CO2 (-100 to -135 °C), separates and pressurizes the solids, and warms all streams to produce a CO2-depleted stream at ambient pressure and a pure (99+%) pressurized liquid CO2 stream typically to about 150 bar, both at ambient temperature. The process also recovers all gas moisture and most gas impurities less volatile than CO2 (NOx, SOx, Hg, PM, UHC, CCC, etc.) in separable streams. CCC nearly eliminates refrigeration energy for sensible temperature changes through heat integration. CCC does require energy to change the CO2 phase from a mixed vapor to a pressurized fluid, which represents the minimum energy required of any process for this separation. CCC uses additional energy for turbomachinery inefficiencies, heat losses, moisture removal and overall process pressure drop. Aside from these real-world energy demands, CCC operates near the minimum energy required to perform this gas separation by minimizing stream recycling. CCC compresses CO2 as a liquid, which is one of several reasons it costs about about half as much and consumes about half as much energy as an amine process when using flue gases with about 15% CO2. The process also has several major additional advantages, including (a) it is a bolt-on retrofit technology that does not need steam or any modification of existing equipment, (b) it recovers water and nearly all pollutants in addition to CO2 from the flue gas, (c) it enables highly efficient and cost effective energy storage at grid scale and on time scales of minutes, (d) it enables NG storage if the energy storage option is used, and (d) it has a small footprint and is minimally disruptive to existing plants, requiring only electrical power and a gas source to operate. Sustainable Energy Solutions (SES) has scaled this technology through several levels, the largest of which captures nominally 1 tonne of CO2/day and is called the skid system. Skid system field tests include utility-scale power plants, cement plants, heating plants, and other utility or industrial sites that burn natural gas, biomass, coal, shredded tires, municipal waste, and combinations of these fuels. These field tests produced 95-99% CO2 capture with CO2 purities of 99+% and initial CO2 contents that range from 4 to 28%. SES currently seeks to scale the system to merchant scale (10-80 tonnes of CO2 per day). In the process of doing so, SES has demonstrated the potential for CCC to contribute to energy storage and direct air capture in innovative and cost-effective ways. This presentation discusses the overall process and highlights results from field and in-house tests. These include (a) measured CO2 capture rates and operating conditions from in-house and field tests, and (b) predicted utility-scale costs and energy demands. This discussion also includes the application of the CCC technology to energy storage and direct air capture.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Outlook on Industrial Requirements for Incorporating Nuclear Energy into Industrial Processes

There is an increasing interest globally and in the U.S. in decarbonizing heavy industrial processes which have large demands for heat and power. Currently these industries primarily use fossil fuels to meet these demands and they include: oil & gas, petroleum refining, chemicals and derivative products manufacturing, iron & steel production, polymers, ammonia and fertilizers, etc. The U.S. DOE Integrated Energy Systems (IES) program seeks to identify and analyze opportunities for integrating and substituting nuclear energy to fulfil these large heat and power demands in a cost competitive and sustainable manner while reducing carbon emissions of the processes by using clean nuclear power. Presently various representatives from a subset of these industrial companies have expressed interest in evaluating the options of integrating future advanced nuclear small modular reactors with their industries. This study is a scoping study to provide an outlook of industrial energy demands and the potential nuclear energy substitution potential. Future work will analyze in a more detailed manner the potential designs for coupling advanced nuclear reactors with various industries. The industrial processes of oil refining, methanol production, pulp and paper, ammonia and chlorine-alkali are described focusing on how heat and power is used within the facilities in the context of identifying nuclear substitution opportunities. The aim is to provide reliable, competitive, and sustainable energy that is clean while reducing carbon emissions and other environmental impacts such as water withdrawals, consumption, and contamination.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

A life cycle assessment of e-hydrogen production using proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis coupled with desalination in Saudi Arabia

Hydrogen, considered a crucial element in the transition towards a sustainable energy future, offers the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Here, this study explores the viability of hydrogen production using proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) as a key driver of decarbonization within the Vision 2030 framework in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A first-of-a-kind life cycle assessment (LCA) of electrolytic hydrogen (e-hydrogen) production using PEMWE in the Kingdom is performed. As the hydrogen will be produced in a freshwater scarce region, the inclusion of water desalination processes adds an important dimension to the assessment, reflecting the local context and resource availability. Two main renewable energy scenarios are assessed: solar energy through photovoltaics (PV) and wind energy through onshore turbines. The global warming potential (GWP) results indicate a GHG emissions reduction of up to 95 % compared to the state-of-the-art steam methane reforming process if the electrolysis process is powered exclusively by renewable electricity. The scenarios powered by solar and wind energy result in 3.66 and 0.76 kg CO 2 eq/kg H 2 , respectively. The metal depletion is assessed to consider the requirement of rare materials, with a 7.19 × 10 −2 kg Cu eq/kg H 2 for the solar scenario and 2.82 × 10 −2 kg Cu eq/kg H 2 for the wind scenario. A contribution analysis reveals that the majority of emissions in both scenarios originate from the electricity used for electrolysis, with the electrolyser itself contributing minimally. The absolute impact of the water desalination process is the same in both scenarios; however, it appears more prominent in the wind-powered case due to the significantly lower overall emissions in that scenario. The findings underscore the importance of renewable energy integration and process optimization in minimizing environmental impacts and advancing the sustainability of e-hydrogen production.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrating an Ensemble Reward System into an Off-Policy Reinforcement Learning Algorithm for the Economic Dispatch of Small Modular Reactor-Based Energy Systems

Nuclear Integrated Energy Systems (NIES) have emerged as a comprehensive solution for navigating the changing energy landscape. They combine nuclear power plants with renewable energy sources, storage systems, and smart grid technologies to optimize energy production, distribution, and consumption across sectors, improving efficiency, reliability, and sustainability while addressing challenges associated with variability. The integration of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in NIES offers significant benefits over traditional nuclear facilities, although transferring involves overcoming legal and operational barriers, particularly in economic dispatch. This study proposes a novel off-policy Reinforcement Learning (RL) approach with an ensemble reward system to optimize economic dispatch for nuclear-powered generation companies equipped with an SMR, demonstrating superior accuracy and efficiency when compared to conventional methods and emphasizing RL’s potential to improve NIES profitability and sustainability. Finally, the research attempts to demonstrate the viability of implementing the proposed integrated RL approach in spot energy markets to maximize profits for nuclear-driven generation companies, establishing NIES’ profitability over competitors that rely on fossil fuel-based generation units to meet baseload requirements.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Biomass co-firing technology with policies, challenges, and opportunities: A global review

The urgency of reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission is increasing and countries around the world have begun investing a substantial amount of resources into renewable energy sources. Biomass co-firing can have a very influential role in achieving this new energy target as it can reduce the potential environmental impacts associated with the combustion of fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases such as CO 2 , NO x , and SO x emissions can be reduced by replacing a portion of coal with biomass during co-firing. The purpose of this article is to review major policies that have promoted biomass co-firing around the world. Furthermore, this article investigates the existing co-firing plants with technologies and availability of biomass resources in different countries of the world. To conclude, this paper summarizes the major global biomass co-firing initiatives and the prospects of biomass co-firing in securing renewable energy target.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗