NuScale Power, along with Shell Global Solutions (Shell) and industry participants, will develop and assess a concept for an economically optimized Integrated Energy System (IES) for hydrogen production using electricity and process heat from a NuScale VOYGR small modular reactor (SMR) power plant.
The project entitled “Development and Demonstration of a Concept for an Economically Optimized IES” will be completed in two phases.
NuScale’s flexible SMR technology holds the potential to balance and stabilize power grids dominated by renewable energies through hydrogen production. It said that energy markets present reliability concerns at times when energy demand is high and renewable energy generation is low. In such markets, hydrogen would be used as an end-product or as a stored energy source to be processed through a reversible solid oxide fuel cell for electricity generation.
“Hydrogen has been identified as a pathway for global decarbonization, and NuScale’s SMR technology complements this goal through low carbon hydrogen production,” said John Hopkins, NuScale Power President, and Chief Executive Officer.
A NuScale control room simulator will be modified to evaluate the dynamics of the integrated energy system (IES). It will include models for the Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) system for hydrogen production, in addition to an RSOFC for electricity production. The research will consider the number of NuScale Power Modules needed for use in SOEC hydrogen production and the quantity of hydrogen stored for subsequent electricity production.
Further, local economic factors from the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project will be assessed. The factors will include the impact in the Western Energy Imbalance Market, resource adequacy programs, and other local market factors to be defined.
Other research participants include Idaho National Laboratory, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), Fuel Cell Energy, FPoliSolutions, and GSE Solutions.
