Nuclear energy in the hydrogen economy

摘要

In the current fossil fuel economy, vehicles are fuelled mainly by petroleum products and a large share of power plants use fossil fuels. This seems difficult to sustain in the decades to come due to limited natural resources and harmful environmental impacts of fossil fuel burning at the local (e.g. urban smog), regional (e.g. acid rain) and global (climate change) levels. The hydrogen economy is envisaged as an alternative path in which hydrogen would play a major role in energy systems and serve all sectors of the economy, substituting for fossil fuels. Hydrogen can be obtained from various primary energy sources that are domestically available in most countries, including nearly carbon- free sources such as renewable and nuclear energies. Consequently, the hydrogen economy would enhance security of energy supply and environmental quality. Hydrogen is an energy carrier that can be stored in large quantities, unlike electricity, and con- verted at the end-user point into electricity in fuel cells, with only heat and water as byproducts. It is also compatible with combustion turbines and reciprocating engines (motors) to produce power with near- zero emission of pollutants.