Nuclear

GSE to develop hydrogen plant model for NuScale SMR simulator

The idea is to modify the existing NuScale control room simulator to include GSE’s models for hydrogen production. This would include modeling for a solid oxide electrolysis system to produce hydrogen, in addition to a fuel cell for electricity production.
GSE to develop hydrogen plant model for NuScale SMR simulator
A rendering of a potential NuScale VOYGR plant (Source: NuScale).

GSE Solutions announced it will work with NuScale Power on a hydrogen plant model for NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) power plant simulator.

It comes after a recent announcement that several partners would assess the potential of hydrogen production using electricity and process heat from NuScale’s SMR.

The idea is to modify the existing NuScale control room simulator to include GSE’s models for hydrogen production. This would include modeling for a solid oxide electrolysis system to produce hydrogen, in addition to a fuel cell for electricity production.

Research will consider the number of NuScale power modules needed for use in solid oxide fuel cell hydrogen production and the quantity of hydrogen stored for subsequent electricity production.

The scaled–up model is estimated to be complete by the middle of March 2024.

Portland-based NuScale’s power module is a small pressurized water reactor, which can generate 77 MW of electricity (MWe). Its six-module VOYGR-6 can generate 462 MWe. The company also offers a 12-module VOYGR-12 (924 MWe) and a four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe).

VOYGR is the official name of NuScale’s SMR, which it plans to deploy for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at the Idaho National Lab (INL).

The CFPP project’s first module is projected to come online in 2029, with all six modules online by 2030. NuScale believes the six-module CFPP will act as a catalyst for subsequent SMR plant deployments across the U.S. and beyond.

Hydrogen is viewed as a way to decarbonize energy systems. In these markets, hydrogen would be used as an end-use product or as a stored energy source to be processed through a solid oxide fuel cell for electricity generation.