Assessment of Nuclear Energy to Support Negative Emission Technologies
Abstract: Nuclear energy is already playing an important role in the energy transition by decarbonizing the electricity sector and can play an even larger role in decarbonizing other sectors of the economy for instance through hydrogen and industrial heat production. Another barely considered opportunity for nuclear energy to contribute to decarbonization is to couple it with negative emission technologies (NETs). Nuclear power generates heat and/or electricity that can be used in various NETs to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Several types of NETs could be compatible with nuclear energy such as Direct Air Capture (DAC), biomass-based processes, indirect seawater capture, or enhanced weathering. This seminar will present a recent effort from DOE-NE in investigating the compatibility of nuclear energy with NETs and this potential new market opportunity.
Bio: Dr. Nicolas E. Stauff joined the Argonne National Laboratory in 2012 and currently serves as the Manager of the Nuclear Applications and Economics Group in the Nuclear Science and Engineering division. His work supports the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), and the nuclear industry, contributing to the fields of reactor physics, fuel cycle analyses, and economics assessment for advanced nuclear reactors. Dr. Stauff leads some nuclear market economics research for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) System Analysis and Integration Campaign and he contributes to the development of advanced reactor designs in collaboration with industry (HolosGen, ARC LLC, Westinghouse, etc.). He also serves as nuclear energy technical coordinator to the Net Zero World initiative.
