US offers nuclear hydrogen funding

Nuclear offers cheap way to generate hydrogen, especially for existing reactors struggling to compete with gas

The US Department of Energy (DoE) is seeking applications for hydrogen projects coupled with nuclear power and has altered an existing funding call to support developments using high-temperature electrolysis that can be coupled to existing or new reactors. “It is anticipated that selected awardees could design and develop the heat-extraction infrastructure needed for a nuclear and hydrogen industrial energy park or develop hydrogen-coupled end uses for nuclear-produced hydrogen,” says the amended funding call. As well as electricity, nuclear reactors produce high-temperature steam that can be used to make electrolysis more efficient and therefore reduce the amount of electricity needed to pr