Nuclear energy may be "reborn" by the French media: the future of nuclear reactors can do anything

According to the French "Express" weekly website reported on November 30, at present, this is only a hypothetical scene, but it has made the nuclear energy field begin to be full of dreams. From the perspective of prospects, there may be new applications for nuclear reactors in the future. It will not only provide electricity for homes and businesses, its energy can also be applied to hydrogen electrolysis, desalination or large merchant ships. Its thermal energy can also be recycled and stored to heat buildings or promote hydrogen production.

Experts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance have mentioned in a recent report that nuclear energy may be "reborn". Valérie Foton, the general representative of the French Nuclear Energy Association, prefers to describe it as a restoration, arguing that "it is a bit premature to use the word 'rebirth'". It doesn't matter what the word is: climate change does open up new prospects for nuclear technology.

Thomas Bronch, senior vice president of energy transition and infrastructure at French engineering firm Assystem, added: "In the latest report of the French company Grid Company, various scenarios mention a significant increase in the demand for electricity and decarbonized hydrogen energy. "It is also in these areas that nuclear energy is more likely to get into the track.

Chris Gadomsky, principal analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said: "Without the huge contribution of nuclear energy, it is impossible to achieve the goal of net reduction in carbon emissions. For example, it is clear that there cannot be enough renewable energy to meet the demand for green hydrogen. Therefore, only recourse to nuclear energy. ”

According to the report, the simplest way is to connect the hydrogen electrolyzer to the national grid at the first time. These facilities can produce hydrogen by electrolyzing water. This path was chosen by the French city of Auxerre, which recently established hydrogen production and rationing facilities, mainly for trucks or buses. But to improve the efficiency of such equipment, more heat from the nuclear reactor is needed. This idea is not the only one that exists now. The principle is to transfer part of the steam in the secondary water circuit of the nuclear power plant. This thermal energy can be supplied to high-temperature hydrogen electrolysis facilities.

Bernard Sara, director of R&D and technology at EDF, said: "Currently, at the Sèzewell nuclear power project in England, we are looking at the possibilities of this extraction method. ”

A portion of the steam recovered by the plant can be converted into fresh water fed into pipelines. Stefanne Salad, head of the energy program at the French Commission for Alternative and Atomic Energy, said: "Roughly speaking, it is conceivable that nuclear reactors will produce electricity during the day and hydrogen and drinkable water at night. This flexibility in terms of use will be one of the key factors in the development of future nuclear reactors. ”

The report believes that the reason for this is that it seems that human beings will face a shortage of fresh water before they lack oil. The blowout in the desalination equipment market is proof of this, but these devices are also energy-intensive.

Steam from nuclear power plants can also heat surrounding cities. A recent report by the French Nuclear Energy Association mentioned: "City heating is one of the most promising applications of nuclear energy in the non-electricity sector. "For a long time, nuclear power plants have been geographically distant from users, which is a bottleneck in their development. But now, it is possible to send hot water 100 kilometers away while the water temperature is reduced by only 2 degrees Celsius. These advances open up new prospects.

Source: Reference News Network