Alkaline and High temperature electrolysis for nuclear Hydrogen production Jérôme GOSSET Nathalie COLLIGNON AREVA Research & Innovation Corporate Department jerome.gosset@areva.com nathalie.collignon@areva.com

Outline Requirements on Nuclear Hydrogen Production Systems Alkaline electrolysis as a sound solution Challenges facing high temperature electrolysis to overcome alkaline technology

Requirements on Nuclear Hydrogen Production Systems

Three hard truths A strong energy demand growth, in particular for transportation An unprecedented world population growth An economic growth of 2-3 %/yr long term 500 Millions LV = 10 Mbl/d Production Plateau & Peak Oil Plateau or peak ~ 100 Mbl/d Offer unable to cope with demand Need for an alternative energy source The climate change constraint Oil industry impacted in many ways Heavy oils extraction challenged Refinery processes to be revised Some issues with CCS that can not solve the problem alone Automotive industry challenged by CO2/km reductions A major transformation of our fuel and transportation systems is to happen

Global Warming - The extreme inertia of phenomena We are now certain about a number of facts Since 1950, the concentration of GHG in the atmosphere has been higher than ever before and the Earth’s surface has been getting warmer. The impact of increasing population (agriculture, deforestation) is still unclear. But it certainly can’t make the situation any better. Once in the atmosphere, on average, CO2 spends over a century in the atmosphere. So, even after emissions peak, and until they fall back to 3 GtC/year (the absorption capacity of the sea and biosphere), CO2 concentrations will continue to rise. The phenomenon may even prove irreversible if the absorption capacity of the soil and oceans fell. Hence it is very important to begin reducing emissions as soon as possible The importance of Timing

Unfortunately, CCS is viable but can not come soon enough CCS is technically viable A lot of tried-and-tested technological blocks Some – currently being developed – have the potential to cut costs However some important geology issues in some parts of the world Reasonable foreseeable price levels at mid-2008 economic conditions 50 - 60 €/tCO2 (30 - 40 €/MWh) on average Major local variations However, industrial scale deployment is still a long way off No major impact before 2025 Concept design Pilot Demo Test Programs Industrial Design

Clean Hydrogen can have a major impact Worldwide H2 consumption (2006) 630 billions Nm3 Largest applications of H2 are for Fossil fuels processing (50%) Ammonia production (34%) Large issues for the future Using conventional technologies for producing 5 Mbl/day in Alberta would increase Canada’s current CO2 emissions by 50 % Oil industry requires massive clean hydrogen production To reduce CO2 emissions To produce more gasoline and diesel out of a given amount of raw material (crude, biomass or coal) Oil processes have potentially a partial use for the oxygen if hydrogen is produced from water Clean hydrogen and nuclear have a pivotal role for future clean transportation

Nuclear – Oil interface Mid term solutions are needed Necessity to develop industrial clean H2 production technologies ready by 2020 Oil industry, a potential application for large H2 production in mid and long term Current processes/plants could be retrofitted H2 consumption is expected to increase heavier oils, tighter norms new plants to come All petrochemical processes addressable Nuclear – Oil interface generic H2 (and O2) production by electrolysis or thermo-chemical processes Direct power and heat to petrochemical processes and plants More gasoline and diesel from fossil fuels with nuclear XtL Energy density of nuclear A timing issue Climate lead-times Consistent with emergence of plug-in hybrids Mid term solutions are needed

Mid Term Solution Alkaline Electrolysis – LWR

Available technologies LWR Cost of licensing prevents from any reactor specific design for H2 application Use of electricity only EPRTM is AREVA’s reference Alkaline technology Hydrogen Technology (Statoil Hydro) example Need for a development of a high power electrolysers Purity of hydrogen : >99 % 485 Nm3/h 2 MWe 1bar 130 Nm3/h 0.5 MWe 30 bar

From a classical CtL Plant to a CtL plant with nuclear integration ASU H2S CO2 Naphta Diesel O2 FT reactor Coal Gasification CO-Shift AGR HDT/HCK Steam Steam ASU : Air Separation Unit AGR : Acid Gas Removal HDT : Hydrotreatment HCK : Hydrocracking

From a classical CtL Plant to a CtL plant with nuclear integration EPR H2O Water splitter H2 O2 H2S CO2 Naphta Diesel FT reactor Coal Gasification AGR HDT/HCK Steam ASU : Air Separation Unit AGR : Acid Gas Removal HDT : Hydrotreatment HCK : Hydrocracking

From a classical CtL Plant to a nuclear integrated one integration Provides H2 and O2 General process simplification Water gas shift removal and more CO available AGR size reduction ASU removal Resulting plant performance Up to 3-fold conversion ratio (bbl/t of coal) Quantity of H2 needed ~ 40 kg/bl ~ 1800 kWh/bl and 1 EPRTM for a 20 000 bl/d production CO2 reduction : down to 1/40 Synfuel production cost : 140 $/bl to be compared to 120 $/bl for classical route Conclusions Even with no process heat to provide, very sensible process improvement achievable Re-Opens CtL option for the future as it drastically reduces its CO2 footprint Similar improvements for refinery or BtL applications

But 70 % of CtL barrel cost is H2 cost The Cost Challenge PetroChemical Process LWR kWh kWh AWE H2/O2 Already enables Large CO2 emission abatements High conversion ratios for XtL Reasonable costs due to Nuclear-petrochemical Process Integration O2 valorization Savings on raw materials High value of products But 70 % of CtL barrel cost is H2 cost of which 80 % is kWh cost We must improve HTE option Feasibility ? AWE Improvement Limited

Is High Temperature Electrolysis the Long Term Solution?

A substantial electric energy potential saving Electrolysis process performance : a decrease by 20 % of the electrical specific consumption is conceivable Electrolysis technology AWE HTE Specific electrical consumption (kWh/ Nm3) 4 3,2 Alkaline water electrolysis: electricity cost ~ 80 % of H2 cost With same CAPEX for HTE and AWE and fre high temperature heat: best savings ~ 16 % Still HTE is a development challenge

Technical challenges: generic roadmap From electrolysis technology… Cell efficiency + durability (electrolyte conductivity, catalysts efficiency, stability vs corrosion) Material knowledge Stack efficiency (fluids, heat, mass transfer management, Mechanical assembly, Gas tight conception) Thermomechanical, thermohydraulic, gasketing and assembly knowledge Module architecture (stack association, process management ) Electrochemical and thermodynamical processes knowledge Plant definition (module association, process management ) … to nuclear H2 plant solutions Plant process, regulation and safety knowledge

Beyond HTE, the heat challenge Challenges At 950 °C or more, the HTR requires a lot of development work Such a reactor + heat carrier system is a long term development If proved feasible, will it be competitive ? Materials, Fuel Licensing, Lifetime, Etc. Heat is carried at ~ 900°C on at least a few hundred meters Technical challenge : Helium, Molten salt Cost and energy penalty The heat exchangers at both ends operating in the 950-900°C range, under substantial pressure differential Lifetime issue From an industrial point of view, a less challenging option is considered Use of a 600°C HTR: no specific development for H2 production With additional heat brought by Joule effect

Almost as good as DOE’s 900°C HTR configuration (2.1 kg/s) Schematic configuration of HTE process with steam cycle For a 600 MWth HTR unit Regeneration : ~ 41 MWth Steam transport loop : ~ 17 MWth Electricity to heat the steam to 900°C, ~15 MWe Electrolysis itself (at 3.1 kWe/m3) uses 240 MWe H2 production 1.93 kg/s, or 167 t/d Almost as good as DOE’s 900°C HTR configuration (2.1 kg/s)

Conclusion Is Oil industry ready ? Bricks for transition to nuclear-hydrogen sustained oil processes are ready Using proven and available technologies: LWR, alkaline electrolysis Economics can fly in a high oil prices context Is Oil industry ready ? However some developments are required for this specific application H2 Plant design 28 t/h needs ~ 1000 MWe, or 100 modules Several applications in petrochemistry can use 10 times that amount, or ~ 1000 modules ! The overall plant design is a significant challenge whether based on AWE or HTE The economics of the nuclear hydrogen production can be improved on a longer term Improving AWE, using offpeak electricity Or using 600°C HTR and HTE We need to stick with non specifically designed reactors So we can focus R&D efforts on HTE Enabling to make the oil industry an electro-intensive one

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