Uncovering hidden market opportunities for advanced nuclear reactors

Abstract

All the sectors need to be decarbonized to meet the energy transition goals. Particularly in the industrial sector, there is still a high share of processes that need to be decarbonized to reduce global emissions by 65-90% by 2050 to avert surpassing a 1.5°C temperature rise (Pörtner et al., 2022). Recent U.S. laws, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Defense Production Act, Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (or CHIPS), state programs, and other recent laws, have clean energy requirements and provide financial incentives to accelerate the use of clean energy technologies in the industrial sector. These new laws include supporting mechanisms with direct financial support for nuclear power (e.g., advanced reactor development and hydrogen production). However, advanced nuclear could also gain these financial benefits by coupling with low-carbon industrial projects. For example, microreactors could supply low-carbon energy to producers of critical metals that (1) are eligible to receive investment and production tax credits and favorable loans, and (2) the low-carbon product could gain preference in emerging markets for green products. This analysis studies the maximum cost targets for microreactors (MRs) that the first price takers could tolerate with the new laws to understand the impacts on microreactor financial viability. The targets are analyzed considering possible matches of MR with market/industrial applications. Potential microreactor applications in U.S. markets are based on recent studies of niche markets in Alaska and Wyoming (Shropshire et al. 2023). High-interest applications for graphite mining in Alaska and Trona (a mineral used for sodium carbonate) processing in Wyoming were chosen for this initial study.The study's objectives are to: (1) explore the maximum cost targets accepted by the first price takers when coupling microreactors with different industries for decarbonization; (2) assess the economic viability utilizing loans, grants, investment, and production credits, and identify any remaining financial gaps; (3) identify provisions in the law's implementation language to qualify these partnerships for financial support.