The 2nd Coe Ines International Workshop On Toward Hydrogen Economy What Nuclear Can Contribute And How

Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role as a sustainable and environmentally acceptable energy source for the 21st century, but as natural sources of pure hydrogen are extremely limited, it is necessary to develop technologies to produce large quantities of hydrogen economically. The current dominant technology for producing hydrogen is based on reforming fossil fuels, a process which releases greenhouse gases, but hydrogen produced by water cracking, using heat and surplus electricity from nuclear power plants, requires no fossil fuels and results in lower greenhouse gas emissions. This publication contains the proceedings of the expert meeting, held in Japan in October 2005, including papers on: the status of nuclear hydrogen research and development; integrated production systems; technologies and design concepts; basic and applied science in support of nuclear hydrogen production.

Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role as a sustainable and environmentally acceptable energy carrier in the 21st century. This report describes the scientific and technical challenges associated with the production of hydrogen using heat and/or electricity from nuclear power plants, with special emphasis on recent developments in high-temperature electrolysis and the use of different chemical thermodynamic processes. Economics and market analysis as well as safety aspects of the nuclear production of hydrogen are also discussed.

Hydrogen and fuel cells are vital technologies to ensure a secure and CO2-free energy future. Their development will take decades of extensive public and private effort to achieve technology breakthroughs and commercial maturity. Government research programs are indispensable for catalyzing the development process. This report maps the IEA countries' current efforts to research, develop and deploy the interlocking elements that constitute a "hydrogen economy", including CO2 capture and storage when hydrogen is produced out of fossil fuels. It provides an overview of what is being done, and by whom, covering an extensive complexity of national government R & D programs. The survey highlights the potential for exploiting the benefits of the international cooperation. This book draws primarily upon information contributed by IEA governments. In virtually all the IEA countries, important R & D and policy efforts on hydrogen and fuel cells are in place and expanding. Some are fully-integrated, government-funded programs, some are a key element in an overall strategy spread among multiple public and private efforts. The large amount of information provided in this publication reflects the vast array of technologies and logistics required to build the "hydrogen economy."--Publisher description.