POWER January 2022 - 25

2022 INDUSTRY FORECAST
4. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) was selected
to supply its BWRX-300 small modular
reactor technology for an Ontario Power Generation
project at the Darlington nuclear plant
site. An artist's rendering of a GEH BWRX-300
facility is shown here. Courtesy: GEH
A couple of other designs that could
be commercially deployed by the end
of the decade are Terrestrial Energy's Integral
Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) and
Westinghouse Electric's eVinci microreactor.
Both have received funding support
from the DOE. Terrestrial Energy's IMSR
is a Generation IV SMR that uses molten
salt as a coolant and fuel. The company
said it could be ready for commercial deployment
in the late 2020s. The eVinci
microreactor is a 15-MW thermal reactor
that is expected to utilize TRISO fuel and
a specialized heat pipe design to flexibly
operate on a grid or in remote locations.
Westinghouse aims to demonstrate a
prototype reactor by 2024, with full commercial
deployment by the late 2020s.
Another microreactor design to watch
is Global First Power's (GFP's) Micro
Modular Reactor (MMR). GFP-a Canadian
company jointly owned by OPG and
Seattle, Washington-based Ultra Safe
Nuclear Corp.-said in May 2021 that it
had entered the formal phase of Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission licensing
for its first project. The company is planning
a 15-MWth (5-MWe) MMR plant to
be constructed at Chalk River Laboratories,
a site owned by Atomic Energy of
Canada Ltd. and managed by Canadian
Nuclear Laboratories. The demonstration
project is intended to serve as a model
for future SMR deployments. First power
is expected in 2026.
Decarbonization: Hydrogen and
Carbon Capture Poised for Growth
There is a worldwide crusade to decarbonize
power grids. Although China and
India were able to get language in the
" Glasgow Climate Pact, " which was adopted
by nearly 200 countries meeting at
the United Nations Climate Change Conference
(COP26) in Scotland in November,
changed to " phase down " rather than
" phase out " coal use, the days of coalfired
power generation seem numbered.
Additionally, there is a growing moveJanuary
2022 | POWER
ment of environmental activists that want
to see unabated natural gas-fired generation
eliminated from the power mix sooner
rather than later. While that may raise
the dander of everyone with ties to the
fossil fuel industry, it offers opportunities
for folks in several power sectors. Among
the technologies that are likely to benefit
from the decarbonization trend are hydrogen
and carbon capture schemes.
GlobalData, an intelligence provider
to various industries, reported on Oct.
27 that " hydrogen mentions in company
filings increased by 21% in 2021
amid cleaner energy transitions. " Rinaldo
Pereira, business fundamentals analyst
at GlobalData, said in a statement issued
to POWER, " Companies consider hydrogen
to be the next step in renewable
energy, with sentiments around this fuel
source having remained above the 0.8
range since Q3 2020. " Sentiment scores
close to 1 are considered highly positive.
A report published Nov. 22 by Fitch
Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research
(a unit of Fitch Group), says green
hydrogen-which is produced from renewables-based
electrolysis processes-
" has extended its global footprint with
projects increasing in scope and scale
driving a diverse competitive landscape
of companies looking to establish themselves
amid the energy transition. " Fitch
Solutions said blue hydrogen, which is
derived from natural gas utilizing CCS, " offers
unique benefits, including the ability
to decarbonize fossil fuels and prolong the
use of existing fossil fuel assets, " but the
firm's analysts believe several challenges
will restrain its growth in the near term.
The pipeline for hydrogen projects in
Fitch Solutions' " Key Projects Database "
has increased significantly over the past
six months from 139 projects in Q2 2021
to 190 by Q4. The pipeline is filled with
green projects-more than 91% of the
total-with the top five markets (Australia,
Spain, Germany, Netherlands, and
China) accounting for half of the total
capacity. Concerning blue hydrogen projects,
the top three countries (the UK,
Canada, and the U.S.) account for more
than 60% of capacity in the pipeline. Yet,
the scale and scope of projects is clearly
led by green hydrogen and driven by
countries in Asia and Western Europe.
One aspect of green hydrogen production
that often gets overlooked is the
water component. Many solar and wind
projects are located in areas of water scarcity,
which could be a concern for companies
planning green hydrogen facilities.
Dave Guinta, PE, section manager for the
www.powermag.com
Process department of Burns & McDonnell's
Energy division, told POWER that a
100-MW electrolysis plant requires about
100 to 150 gallons per minute (gpm) of
water with about 70 to 80 gpm of that
being consumed and the rest going to
the sewer. The demand scales linearly
as project sizes increase. " I don't expect
water usage rates to limit the maximum
capacity for every electrolyzer plant, but
for certain locations it will likely be a driving
factor limiting size and/or feasibility of
a plant altogether, " Guinta said.
The wastewater aspect is also concerning
to some companies. " Depending
upon the customer and regional location,
some of them are a little bit less interested
in obtaining a discharge permit
to send the wastewater offsite, " Tisha
Scroggin-Wicker, PE, director of process
technology for the Energy group at Burns
& McDonnell, explained. " The discussion
kind of revolves around, 'Well, I'm
making green hydrogen and as part of
that strategy I do not want to discharge a
wastewater locally,' " she said. ScrogginWicker
also noted that discharge permits
are getting harder and harder to obtain.
The water requirement, however, creates
an opportunity for some existing
power plants. For example, a retiring coal
plant that has water intake and discharge
rights, an existing water treatment facility,
interconnection with the power grid, a
sizeable plot of land, and other potentially
reusable infrastructure could be a great
location for a new green hydrogen production
facility. " There are a lot of things
that you can take advantage of while repurposing
a retired coal unit " said Guinta.
While blue hydrogen production may
not result in large-scale growth of CCS
deployments, there is promise for the
technology in retrofit projects at coaland
gas-fired power plants. " The potential
of carbon capture in this transition
is going to be phenomenal. We have to
figure this out. We have to deploy it, " Neil
Wilmshurst, senior vice president of Energy
System Resources with the Electric
Power Research Institute, said as a guest
on The POWER Podcast.
Furthermore, Wilmshurst suggested
it would be very difficult to meet carbon
reduction targets without utilizing CCS
technology. " When you look at the infrastructure
we have today and the options
we have to get to 2050, it is a real challenge
to see how the U.S. gets to 2050
[goals] without leaning in hard on carbon
capture, " he said. ■
-Aaron Larson is POWER's
executive editor.
25
http://www.powermag.com
POWER January 2022

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