Massive US nuclear hydrogen power plan put on pause by Constellation Energy

Constellation Energy Corp. has announced that it is placing its $1 billion nuclear hydrogen plan on hold – and could be scrapping it completely – as it waits to find out if the US government intends to provide the expected tax credit that would play a vital role in the project.

In coming months, the US Treasury Department will be providing guidance to clarify how H2 suppliers will be able to qualify for a subsidy as high as $3 per kilogram as a part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Companies like Constellation Energy and its nuclear hydrogen plan have been waiting for these rules to be released since the law was first signed in August 2022.

Constellation has now announced that the future of its pink H2 project will be decided on the types of limits that will be imposed by the Biden administration, which is facing pressure from environmental groups and some lawmakers to ensure that this plan focused on decarbonization will indeed be an environmentally friendly one. That said, determining what constitutes environmental friendliness has yet to be determined.

The pink H2 would be produced at the company's plant in upstate New York. Its intention is to also start installing the technology at a number of reactors to be able to supply H2 to a number of industrial customers throughout the Midwest. That said, the plan is on hold until it knows whether it will be able to rely on the assistance it was counting on from the US government.

Credit: Photo by depositphotos.com

Carbon-intensive factories producing chemicals, steel, fertilizer produce approximately one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Replacing fossil fuel use with nuclear hydrogen can help to provide a low-carbon alternative to power those processes. That said, despite how comparatively quickly it could begin production compared to green hydrogen from renewable energy sources, there is some hesitation in a dependence on pink nuclear hydrogen.

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Julie Campbell is a veteran news writer with a primary focus on hydrogen fuel and renewable energy, technology, health and wellness. Campbell has been the head of a freelance writing company since 2003...READ MORE

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