Session: 4.3 - Nuclear Power

Paper Number: 117778

117778 - Decarbonizing Industrial Heat and Electricity Applications Using Advanced Nuclear Energy 

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is investigating the technical pathways to assist industrial heat and electricity users to meet their decarbonization goals through integration with advanced nuclear power plants (NPPs). Nuclear is one of the safest and cleanest sources of clean, abundant, and dispatchable energy. To alleviate the capital cost concerns of building new NPPs, the next generation of NPPs (referred to here as advanced NPPs) are designed to be cheaper, safer, and have a lower deployment risk. This project will deliver a library of process models and accompanying documents that guide specific industries in choosing potential nuclear technologies based on their needs. Considerations in providing this guidance include specific hazards from the industrial facility, which impact NPP siting, heat transport requirements and associated technologies, and implementation feasibility with site-specific demand profiles. The library of facility process models will be based on real data from industrial facilities in the United States.

The industrial processes will be identified in this project based on the following: (1) operational heat characteristics that nuclear systems can provide, (2) sufficient energy requirements to merit the capital investment for nuclear plant construction, and (3) environmental benefits of replacing existing energy production with carbon-free nuclear power. Other decarbonization opportunities considered are the addition of nuclear-powered electrolysis processes for hydrogen-intense industries or high-temperature electric heating (e.g., cement production) where the thermal requirements exceed nuclear generation conditions. Through the selection of a few technologies, INL will document and characterize selected technologies to develop preliminary but detailed information of what energy streams within the industrial process may be replaced by a nuclear source. To promote integrated energy system deployments, identifying generalized requirements within specific industries will support preliminary designs for thermal and electrical integration of nuclear power with industrial applications. INL has developed and distributed a survey to its industry partners to obtain baseline process information (e.g., methods, quality, and quantity of required heat inputs) and to better understand dynamic thermal and electrical requirements and control within industrial process plants.

In addition to assessing the technical feasibility, INL is using its experience in NPP siting and licensing to understand the impact of hazards introduced by the industrial facilities on the siting requirements of advanced NPPs. It is expected that most integration opportunities will be with existing industrial facilities, which are suitable for long-term investments such as NPPs because of their proven long-term operation in stable markets. Site characterization of an industrial plant is essential to determine the feasibility and suitable integration methods for each industry. Characterization includes facility distance from the nearest population center, site size, rail or water transport availability, and proximity to undeveloped land. These characteristics impact the heat transfer integration from the reactor because of required siting distances and reactor- or industry-side design changes for safe, efficient operation.

The assessment of siting and technical data will reveal opportunities for a single-use nuclear integration as well as integration of multiple industrial facilities with a single NPP (such as an ‘energy park’). In addition to integration with existing facilities, the energy-park style cooperation could include new construction such as data centers to cost-share energy investments. The goal of this presentation is to introduce advanced nuclear energy as a decarbonization source for industrial applications, brief attendees on the current project status, share the industrial survey results, and provide insights on pairing specific industries and reactor technologies.

Presenting Author: Chandrakanth Bolisetti Idaho National Laboratory

Presenting Author Biography: Chandu Bolisetti is a Scientist in the Advanced Reactor Technology and Design department at Idaho National Laboratory. His research focuses on earthquake safety of nuclear power plants and other critical infrastructure with emphasis on advanced modeling and simulation, hazard and risk assessment, design optimization, and seismic isolation. He is also passionate about reducing the deployment risk of advanced reactor power plants through technoeconomics including developing cost estimation tools, identifying cost barriers, and identifying and promoting cost reduction technologies especially in civil engineering and construction. Dr. Bolisetti joined INL as a seismic postdoctoral research associate in November 2014. He received a Ph.D. in 2014 and Master of Science in 2010, both in structural and earthquake engineering from the University at Buffalo, SUNY. He received his Bachelor of Technology in civil engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, in 2008.