At Oswego, New York, the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station is now producing clean hydrogen. The facility uses nuclear energy to produce clean hydrogen for the first time in the country.
This nuclear achievement is a component of a $14.5 million cost-sharing effort between Constellation and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to show how nuclear power plants may aid in reducing the price and increasing the production of clean hydrogen.
Constellation will use locally produced hydrogen to assist in cooling the power facility. The Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant’s low-temperature electrolysis system, which makes use of the facility’s current hydrogen storage system, was built and installed with DOE help.
By using power generated at the facility to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, Constellation’s novel hydrogen generation system creates hydrogen without emitting any emissions. In order to supply hydrogen for plant operations—a procedure that previously depended on trucked-in deliveries of hydrogen manufactured from fossil fuels—the system began creating clean hydrogen in February.
Currently, around 95% of the hydrogen made in the US comes from fossil fuels, creating new market prospects for nuclear energy. One of four programs financed by DOE to show clean hydrogen production at operational nuclear power facilities is the Hydrogen Production System at Nine Mile Point.
In addition to these demonstrations, DOE is spending billions of dollars under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and Inflation Reduction Act to advance clean hydrogen production in the US and reduce emissions while also generating new employment opportunities for Americans.
Additionally, it helps the Department’s Hydrogen Shot objective of bringing down the price of hydrogen by 80% to $1 per kilogram within a ten-year period. As it explores the potential deployment of other hydrogen systems at additional sites, Constellation aims to keep an eye on the performance of the new system.
