Hydrogen production pathways for Generation-IV reactors

Hydrogen is experiencing a growing momentum worldwide as a clean versatile energy solution. Even though it is the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen rarely exists in its primary form, and is mostly available in water and organic compounds. Nuclear hydrogen production technologies are believed to take part in securing large portion of the growing hydrogen demand for a clean and affordable energy future. Coupling hydrogen and nuclear plants serves several industries where large quantities of hydrogen are required. The utilization of nuclear thermal energy for hydrogen production provides an important pathway for combating climate change and provides an alternate, environmentally benign method away from dependency on the conventional carbon-based hydrogen production technologies. This chapter tackles some of the promising technologies of hydrogen production available for near-term deployment to provide sustainable large-scale production and discusses their feasibility to be coupled with nuclear power plants based on Generation-IV reactor designs.