Cover Photos: (left to right) PIX 04135, iStock 22779761, PIX 16933., PIX 15648, PIX 08466, PIX 21205 NREL prints on paper that contains recycled content.iii This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications. PrefaceThe U.S. economy is constantly evolving, especially in regard to how energy is generated and used in the electricity, buildings, industrial, and transportation sectors. These changes are being driven by economics and by environmental and energy security concerns. The electricity-sector market share of natural gas and variable-generation renewables, such as wind and solar photovoltaics (PV), continues to grow. The buildings sector is evolving to meet efficiency standards, the transportation sector is evolving to meet efficiency and renewable fuels standards, and the industrial sector is evolving to reduce emissions through efficiency improvements, advanced combined heat and power (CHP), and increased energy storage (DOE 2015a). These drivers provide investment and utilization strategies for innovative energy generation and delivery assets.Nuclear and renewable energy sources are important to consider in the U.S. economy's evolution because both are clean, non-carbon-emitting energy sources. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are jointly investigating potential synergies between nuclear and renewable energy technologies. A series of workshops since 2011 have brought together experts and stakeholders in both areas to identify collaboration opportunities and to develop research plans to analyze and evaluate the costs and benefits and technical development needs of nuclear renewable energy beyond the electrical power market. Workshop participants identified nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems (N-R HESs) as one of the potential opportunities and recommended investigating whether N-R HESs could both generate dispatchable electricity without carbon emissions and provide clean energy to industrial processes. They also recommended analyzing the potential for N-R HESs to provide dispatchable capacity to the grid and to investigate whether real inertia provided by thermal power cycles within N-R HESs provides value to the grid.Several categories of N-R HESs have been identified. Tightly coupled N-R HESs are co-located, directly integrated, and co-controlled behind the grid (i.e., they have a single connection to the grid). Thermally coupled N-R HESs have an integrated thermal connection and are co-controlled but may have multiple electrical connections to the grid and subsystems may not be co-located. Loosely coupled, electricity-only N-R HESs only have electrical interfaces and subsystems that can be located separately with multiple connections to the grid, but they are co-controlled so a single management entity dispatches the energy and services they provide to the grid. This report is one in a series of reports that INL and NREL are publishing that address the technical and economic asp...

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Increased electricity production from renewable energy resources coupled with low natural gas prices has caused existing light-water reactors (LWRs) to experience ever-diminishing returns from the electricity market. Via a partnership among Idaho National Laboratory (INL), The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Exelon, and Fuel Cell Energy, a technoeconomic analysis of the viability of retrofitting existing pressurized water reactors (PWRs) to produce hydrogen (H2) via high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) has been conducted. Such integration would allow nuclear facilities to expand into additional markets that may be more profitable in the long term.To accommodate such an integration, a detailed analysis of HTSE process operation, requirements, and flexibility was conducted. The technical analysis includes proposed nuclear system control scheme modifications to allow dynamic operation of the HTSE via both thermal and electrical connection to the nuclear plant. High-fidelity Modelica simulations showcase the viability of such control schemes. However, due to limited knowledge of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack degradation due to thermal gradients, thermal cycling of the HTSE was not included. Therefore, the control schemes proposed are only utilized to re-distribute steam at startup, and only the portion of electricity utilized in the electrolyzers is cycled.From the detailed analysis of the nuclear integration and the HTSE process design, a comprehensive cost estimation was conducted in the APEA and H2A models to elucidate capital and operational costs associated with the production, compression, and distribution of hydrogen from a nuclear facility. Alongside this costing analysis, market analyses were conducted by NREL and ANL on the electric and hydrogen markets, respectively, in the PJM interconnect.Utilizing the electricity data market projections in the PJM interconnect from NREL and hydrogen demand/pricing projections from ANL, a five-variable sweep over component capacities, discount rates, and hydrogen pricing was completed using the stochastic framework RAVEN (Risk Analysis Virtual ENvironment) through its resource dispatch plugin HERON (Heuristic Energy Resource Optimization Network). Each combination of variables was evaluated over a seventeen-year timespan, from 2026-2042 (inclusive), to determine the most economically advantageous solution. Following the five-variable sweep, an optimization was conducted to establish the best sweep point to determine optimal component sizing and setpoints.Results suggest positive gain is achievable at all projected hydrogen market pricing levels and at all discount rates. However, exact component sizing and net returns vary based on these values, and if incorrect sizing is selected, major net losses can occur. The optimal result occurred with set points as follows: high hydrogen prices, the largest possible HTSE unit in the sweep set at 7.47 kg/sec (645.4 tpd), a contractual hydrogen market agreement 7.29 kg/sec (...

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Combustion gases/atmospheri c crude fractionator and heavy naphtha reformer 8.23 (7,800) 600 SIPH, SMR (HTGR) Gasoline 33,828 bpd Diesel 12,747 bpd Kerosene 6,755 bpd Iron and Steel Mills 115 603 51 3 Combustion gases/coke production 2.42 (2,290) 1,100 Hydrogen reducing agent Combustion gases/steel production 1,700 *** Electricity/steel production 2,200 *** Paper Mills 116 1,723 32 2 Steam/stock preparation 21.1 (20,000) 150 *** Steam/drying 177 *** Paperboard Mills 73 4,427 24 1.5 Steam/stock preparation 150 *** Steam/drying 177 *** Pulp Mills 30 474 12 0.7 Combustion gases/electricity production 0.67 (640) 800 *** Steam/wood digesting, bleaching, evaporation, chemical preparation 1.15 (1,090) 200 *** 24 18 1.1 Steam/steeping 8.06 (7,640) 50 SMR, SIPH, geothermal Steam/drying 177 SMR, SIPH Starch 1,461 Corn Gluten Feed 593 Corn Gluten Meal 137 Corn Oil 92 Lime and Cement 49 10 0.6 Combustion gases/heating kiln 12.45 (11,800) 1,200-1,500 *** Lime 507 Cement 2,000 Potash, Soda, and Borate Mining 11 5,273 6 0.4 Steam/calciner, crystallizer, and dryer 26 (25,000) 300 SMR, SIPH * Includes CO2 from biomass combustion ** SMR temperatures up to 850 C, SIPH temperatures up to 1,000 C, geothermal heat supply up to 150 C. *** Industries with process temperatures above 1,000 C (i.e., lime and cement, iron and steel) were not addressed in the analysis estimating potential alternative heat supply, although the report discusses applicable alternatives. Likewise, industries that rely on their process byproducts for combustion fuels (i.e., pulp and paper, petrochemical manufacturing) were also excluded from the estimates of potential alternative heat supply. 10. Hybrid thermal/electricity generation may help balance hourly, daily, and/or seasonal electrical cycles. Seasonal heat load opportunities include food processing and/or xv This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.dehydration, conversion of biomass to intermediate products by drying, torrefaction, pyrolysis oil production and stabilization, ethanol production, hydrogen production, industry waste-water cleanup or brackish-water desalination, and pumped hydro and compressed-air storage.11. Intermittent or batch plant operations may require thermal energy storage systems that match clean energy delivery with thermal load schedules.12. Electrification of industry warrants further consideration. Thermal energy storage concepts such as those being developed for concentrating solar systems may help coordinate grid profiles with industry heat use profiles. Direct electrical heating is technically feasible but could add to grid response dynamics and challenges.13. Hydrogen production for use as a substitute fuel gas by industry could reduce industry GHG emissions. Hydrogen can also replace carbon that is used as a reducing agent in steel manufacturing. Hydrogen that is produced by water splitting would provide carbonfree hydrogen for these uses.14. SMRs were identified as an option for process heat and hy...