Zero-Carbon FUELS

This podcast from Sweden explores: How do we go about delivering on the Paris agreement? What kind of policy and infrastructural changes do we need? In this episode Eric Ingersoll and Kirsty Gogan discuss the findings of their Missing Link hydrogen report, authored by LucidCatalyst and being disseminated by Terra Praxis.

Danish startup Seaborg Technologies says it can make affordable nuclear electricity a viable alternative to fossil fuels—its floating barges fitted with advanced nuclear reactors could provide electricity across the developing world as soon as 2025. Kirsty Gogan is quoted: "For hard-to-reach regions, with a climate that is simultaneously too harsh to support the use of renewable energies and too fragile to continue its heavy dependence on fossil fuels, small nuclear, including floating plants, is the only answer." Floating nuclear power plants could be the “turn-key solution” necessary for fast-growing developing economies to power their industries, produce clean-burning hydrogen, and purify drinking water.

Nuclear advocates see a vast market for reactors in carbon capture and carbon-based products, not only for the next generation of reactors in development, but also for the aging dinosaurs they evolved from. “Carbon products represent the potential for an entirely new market for nuclear energy,” said Canon Bryan, CFO of Terrestrial Energy, which is developing a reactor that uses liquid uranium fluoride fuel...“If the waste heat from that plant was being combined with electricity production you could be removing 20 million tons per year of carbon from the atmosphere,” said Kirsty Gogan at an EarthX panel. Modular reactors may also be cheaper, Gogan said, because they can be manufactured in factories on a standard model.

This article highlights the findings of New Nuclear Watch Institute's report on: ‘On the Role of Nuclear Power in the Development of a European Hydrogen Economy’. It also highlights that such findings were discussed at a webinar with Kirsty Gogan, who called for a “new mind set in the nuclear sector”. The exhaustive study concludes that hydrogen can be a “vital” tool in the decarbonisation of energy systems and that nuclear-produced hydrogen would bring “multiple benefits” to the development of the European hydrogen system.

A global members-only community of investors, entrepreneurs and professionals who are focused on solving the critical issues of our time invited Terra Praxis to submit a position paper and lead the charge in making the case for “nuclear energy’s place in reaching net-zero” during an intensive three-day virtual conference. Our key points are:
1. Flexible operation is critical to future power markets
2. Advanced reactors are competitive with best-in-class conventional power plants
3. Hydrogen-enabled synthetic fuels are key and can be affordably produced by nuclear plants

Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis was invited to participate in the first of the new series of events by AirMiners covering energy sources that can power carbon removal at global scale. Watch the video of the discussion about nuclear energy in partnership with the Anthropocene Institute on World Nuclear Energy Day! Other panelists included Canon Bryan of Terrestrial Energy and Seaver Wang of the Breakthrough Institute.

Terra Praxis co-sponsored and presented a vision for large scale, low-cost hydrogen-enabled synthetic fuels production at this two-day virtual workshop, alongside energy-intensive users, future clean energy developers and suppliers, researchers and thought leaders. The discussion covered:
• Potential Markets for Low-Cost Hydrogen
• Hydrogen Production from Nuclear Energy – Current and Future Capabilities
• Advanced Reactors – New Technologies and Deployment Models
• Baselining Hydrogen Technology – Innovations in Electrolysis and Ammonia Synthesis

There's another reason the market for green hydrogen is set to grow: Even if we switch to renewable power, some industries will still be carbon-intensive, says Eric Ingersoll, a hydrogen market expert. Sourcing green hydrogen is a relatively easy way for industries to minimize their footprints. "In some ways, we're making a lot of progress with renewables, but we're not making the kind of progress we need with overall decarbonization," Ingersoll said. "People are starting to realize now that we need to have very practical solutions that can decarbonize our existing infrastructure."

The Founders Pledge Research Team details how to support high-impact climate charities in the wake of the 2020 election. Read this informative analysis of about the timing and impact of philanthropy in their comprehensive report. One finding is that the vast majority of funding goes to public engagement and raising awareness. At the same time, global philanthropic support for decarbonizing sectors that are usually considered among the hardest to decarbonize — transport and industry — is less than that US$75 million. Carbon dioxide removal, the technology considered most in need of additional innovation policy support, received only US$25 million in global philanthropic support. Note that Founders Pledge supports Terra Praxis, which is one of only a handful of NGOs currently working on these difficult problems.

Terra Praxis Co-Founders, Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll were invited to speak at the 2020 ANS Winter meeting, where they presented on transforming nuclear power plant delivery models from FOAK to NOAK.

The Netherlands is poised to procure 10GW of new nuclear energy to support net zero goals. Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll joined senior Dutch politicians and thought leaders where they presented the potentially transformative opportunity for shipyard manufactured nuclear plants to deliver high quality, low-cost plants with increased budget and schedule certainty. Watch the video.

Can Innovation Transform the Global Energy System? Watch this webinar exploring how nuclear innovation must be part of the solution for decarbonization in electricity, industry, and transport. You'll gain a new understanding of the role advanced nuclear can play in hitting 2050 global decarbonization targets. Webinar speakers include Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis, Dr. Rita Baranwal of the US DOE, Dr. Sama Bilbao Y León Director of the World Nuclear Association, and James E. Hansen former Director of NASA. Sponsors include Terrestrial Energy, NuScale Power, and USNC.

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A new report by energy research and consultancy firm LucidCatalyst and NGO Terra Praxis says that carbon-neutral, hydrogen-enabled synthetic fuels might be the answer to transitioning these “difficult-to-decarbonize” sectors. Synthetic fuels—meaning fuels made chemically instead of mined from the earth—can be economically competitive with fossil fuels, according to the report. This is a crucial breakthrough. First, implementing synthetic fuels gets rid of the need to electrify everything. Assuming these fuels are carbon neutral, all we have to do is swap them in for hydrocarbons. Second, they could replace the 50-60% of global emissions attributed to these sectors, at identical cost to cheap traditional fuels. Terra Praxis is helping disseminate the report.

Nuclear power must have a seat at the table in global discussions over energy policies to curb emissions and meet climate goals, as technical and scientific advances open the door to better economics and greater public acceptance of this low carbon source of energy. Participants discussed innovations that are making nuclear power a more affordable and attractive energy option. These include advances in large reactors, emerging technologies such as advanced fuel and small modular reactors (SMRs), engineering breakthroughs extending the operational lifetime of existing reactors, and new developments in waste management such as the construction of the world’s first deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel. Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll participated on the panel and met with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

Watch the video of Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis and LucidCatalyst interviewed on the much needed transition to clean energy and the role played by nuclear, in the Media Corner at the 2020 IAEA Scientific Forum.