Pathways for New Nuclear Development Proceedings of a Workshop (2025) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
4 End User Timelines and Decision Making
4 End User Timelines and Decision Making
Pages 28-35
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 28... ...
Successfully sorting through the crowded ecosystem of development pathways and reactor types to drive growth requires a decision-making process that attends to the range of nuclear reactor technologies and end user expectations, which pose new challenges that different stakeholders, such as early adopters, elected officials, local municipalities, and new investors, must confront. Attending to these considerations requires understanding the potential market adoption, profitability, scalability, and cross-sector risks of different models.
|
From page 29... ...
Blaylock said that Dow Chemical Company also sees nuclear energy as essential to meeting ambitious decarbonization goals. While the company began focusing on nuclear energy decades ago through the Next Generation Nuclear Project, this effort stalled when natural gas prices that had been climbing through the 2000s fell to much lower prices following the expansion of shale gas drilling.
|
From page 30... ...
He said that there is a place for both SMRs for which the design challenges are known and advanced reactors, for which the design challenges are yet to be seen, and added that Duke Energy incorporates plans to pivot on technologies as capabilities are demonstrated. Blaylock added that Dow Chemical Company is focused on reactor designs that can integrate steam and power production, which leads to a focus on advanced SMRs.
|
From page 31... ...
For example, SMRs may have more potential end users because they can be more easily integrated into physical sites, whereas larger reactors are more suitable for utilities seeking to expand grid-scale power. As interest in nuclear energy grows, a community of reactors is needed to support energy demand, secure the supply chain ecosystem, and create a diverse pool of end users.
|
From page 32... ...
For example, digital twins can be used to facilitate project planning by simulating requirements, with cloud computing being used to manage assembly plans, scheduling, and constraints; integrate multiple elements and operational aspects; and provide visibility across the supply ecosystem. Digital twins have proven to be extremely helpful in industries such as aviation and oil and gas, and he posited that similar benefits would likely be seen in the nuclear realm.
|
From page 33... ...
Ahmad noted that, for example, integrating clean, firm resources, such as nuclear energy, into the grid can lower overall system costs by 30 percent.1 Hermann asked the panelists to expand on how companies approach decarbonization goals for Scope 1 (reducing direct emissions from sources a company owns or controls) versus Scope 2 (reducing indirect emissions from buying energy)
|
From page 34... ...
" Hermann agreed that partnerships are important, adding that, while utilities have traditionally borne the risks of building new energy infrastructure, companies and other end users are increasingly finding additional value in nuclear generation beyond electrons, such as heat, expanding the opportunity space nuclear builds represent for a broader array of industry stakeholders. Ahmad added that in his experience, delivering large projects on time and within budget requires relationships with a tightly structured and tiered supply ecosystem in which responsibility for overall project outcomes is shared to ensure every player is aligned and incentivized to meet expectations.
|
From page 35... ...
Ahmad stated that Amazon continually considers and evaluates resiliency and incorporates multiple layers of redundancy to ensure continued service in the face of potential disruptions. Eaton stated that resiliency is also important to Nucor, which carefully sites facilities, partners with utilities' integrated resource plans, and helps them maintain equipment or bring new resources online.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.