Constellation starts production at nation’s first one-megawatt demonstration scale nuclear-powered clean hydrogen facility

30/03/2023
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It is a reality that hydrogen is an option for the future as an indispensable tool for solving the climate crisis, even though 95% of its production currently comes from fossil fuels. However, in February, a milestone demonstrated that nuclear energy is the most efficient and cost-effective way to generate it without carbon emissions. The Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant in New York became the first facility in the United States to produce clean hydrogen.

The process consists of a low-temperature electrolysis system (separating water into hydrogen and oxygen) installed at the plant that uses 1.25 megawatts of energy per hour to produce 560 kilograms of clean hydrogen per day. It will then be stored on-site for use, for example, in the facility.

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Power Plant

This project is part of an initiative by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Constellation, the country's largest producer of clean, carbon-free energy. The goal is to demonstrate that nuclear power plants can help reduce costs and increase pure hydrogen production to decarbonise the economy and industry. To this end, it has a total budget of $14.5 million, of which $5.8 million has been invested in this first part.

The next step is for Constellation to monitor the development of the new system while considering the possible implementation of other hydrogen systems at other sites.

Source: Constellation