Nuclear Power Technology Development Section

Advanced Applications of Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants

Advanced applications of nuclear energy include seawater desalination, district heating, heat for industrial processes, and electricity and heat for hydrogen production. In addition, in the transportation sector, since nuclear electricity is generally produced in a base load mode at stable prices, there is considerable near-term potential for nuclear power to contribute as a carbon-free source of electricity for charging electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. This document examines the potential of nuclear energy to expand into these markets by presenting an overview of example applications, their opportunities, challenges and solutions. Its scope is limited to applications that can be served by water cooled reactors, as these represent more than 90% of the current fleet, and because in the near term most new nuclear plants will be evolutionary water cooled reactors.