Nuclear power is a competitive energy source for producing low-carbon “clean” hydrogen at large scale with reactors in long-term operation able to unlock the cheapest production costs of less than $2 (€2.01) per kg, the Nuclear Energy Agency has said.

In a report on the role of nuclear power in the hydrogen economy, the NEA says the cost of hydrogen from new nuclear reactors is similar to the cost of hydrogen from variable renewables – solar and wind – in most places around the world.

According to the report, nuclear can provide hydrogen and energy to industrial hubs at low costs. Nuclear steadiness and power density allows it to deliver a large-scale, unremitting flow of low-carbon hydrogen and heat.

Nuclear creates opportunities to optimise hydrogen delivery infrastructure costs and to make use of co-location with otherwise hard-to-abate industrial activities.