Study on the role and economics of nuclear cogeneration in a low carbon future

The OECD seeks to address the technical and economic assessment of non-electric applications of nuclear energy: district heating, desalination, high temperature applications (process heat and hydrogen), hybrid nuclear-renewables systems.

Despite proven industrial examples of non-electric applications (district heating), there is no clear economic assessment methodology for future applications. The organisation launched a study aiming at filling this gap, by designing a generic methodology with costs and benefits analyses of non-electric products. The method sought was to be applicable to any kind of cogeneration process or nuclear reactor technology (water-cooled reactors, high temperature reactors, liquid metal cooled reactors, small modular reactors, etc.).

• Business models for nuclear cogeneration, covering all actors along the value chain (reactor designer and operator, engineering, cogeneration plan designer and operator, industrial heat users, hydrogen producer and distributor, district heating network operator)
• Economic models methodology
• Analysis of case studies and benchmark of applications