Editor’s note:This Speakout was submitted by Robert McTaggart, assistant department head, chemistry, biochemistry and physics at SDSU.
It should come as no surprise that the international climate conference COP 28 supported the tripling of renewable energy, the doubling of energy efficiency, and the need to capture methane emissions. What was unexpected was the call to triple global nuclear energy by 2050.
Replacing coal plants with nuclear plants reduces global carbon emissions while boosting electricity production. The new nuclear reactors can provide both baseload and flexible power to enhance grid reliability. And if we build reactors that are cooled by something other than water, the higher operational temperatures will make them more efficient.
Although the average nuclear waste per person in the United States (over a lifetime) already fits inside a soda can, it still makes sense to reduce it further and recover more nuclear energy. If recycling does not gain political favor, consuming more fuel in an advanced reactor will work.
Renewables can be more sustainable with more nuclear power. Tripling renewable energy cannot occur without more solar panels, more wind turbines, and more batteries. We are on course for mining critical materials in other nations, importing renewable energy systems into the United States, throwing these systems away every 25-30 years, and then repeating the same cycle. Using fossil fuels to power any mining, manufacturing, or recycling can lead to more carbon emissions.
Cleaner options for such energy intensity include electricity from nuclear power and hydrogen. Today, most of our hydrogen comes from natural gas, and this is powered by fossil fuels. While biomass and plastic waste are potential sources of hydrogen, there is more interest in separating hydrogen from water using renewables and nuclear. The challenge will be finding a mix of pathways that reduce carbon emissions and costs. Hopefully any tax breaks for hydrogen production will be available to all sources of clean energy.
Hydrogen offers flexible power to support intermittent solar and wind while only emitting water, and excess renewable energy can be re-directed to making hydrogen. Hydrogen helps nuclear energy by allowing our current reactors to run efficiently at full power while re-directing energy to hydrogen production as needed. Furthermore, advanced reactors would facilitate other chemistries for hydrogen with industrial process heat, such as the production of renewable fuels with carbon that we capture.
To benefit from a tripling of global nuclear energy, the United States should build American reactors both here and abroad. That requires an educated workforce and an emphasis on safety. At SDSU, undergraduates may pursue these interests by pairing a minor in chemistry, physics, or nuclear engineering with any STEM degree, or by taking health physics or nuclear engineering as electives. Advances in materials science, radiation protection, and engineering will require graduate-level research.
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