United States: first nuclear-powered clean hydrogen production

Last March 7, 2023 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) annouced a nuclear milestone, how nuclear power plants can help lower the cost and scale-up the production of clean hydrogen.

Part of a $14.5 million cost shared project with Constellation, clean hydrogen production is underway at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Oswego, New York. The facility is the first-of-its-kind in the United States to generate clean hydrogen using nuclear power.

Roughly 95% of the hydrogen produced in the United States is currently sourced from fossil fuels - opening up new market opportunities for nuclear energy.

The Hydrogen Generation System at Nine Mile Point is one of four projects supported by DOE to demonstrate clean hydrogen production at commercial nuclear power plants.

The DOE is investing billions through the Inflation Reduction Act to develop and mature clean hydrogen production in the United States to help lower emissions and create new job opportunities for American workers. It also supports the Department’s Hydrogen Shot goal of reducing the cost of hydrogen by 80 percent, to $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade.

According to Constellation's press release, the clean Hydrogen Generation System operating at Nine Mile Point uses 1.25 megawatt of zero-carbon energy per hour to produce 560 kilograms of clean hydrogen per day, more than enough to meet the plant’s operational hydrogen use, to help cool the power plant. The company plans to monitor the performance of the new system as it considers the possible deployment of other hydrogen systems at additional sites.

Click at the image below for Constallation's press release , including links to other company's hydrogen resources such as Webpage, Fact Sheet and Video.

And here you have the official post by DOE.