Nuclear-produced hydrogen could make a sizeable contribution to the development of the hydrogen economy in the UK and Europe, but progress will depend on the adoption of technology-neutral policies which do not discriminate against nuclear power, a think-tank says in a new report.

The pro-nuclear New Nuclear Watch Institute report makes a case for technology-neutrality in policies designed to boost the clean hydrogen sector. Policies should acknowledge that both renewable energy and nuclear power are low-carbon sources of hydrogen production and should be treated equally.

The report concludes that using nuclear power to produce hydrogen using electrolyser technology has several advantages compared to using intermittent renewables.

One of those advantages is cost. According to the report hydrogen produced from nuclear plants would cost $5.63/kg This compares to $9.81/kg to $12.46/kg for new, dedicated wind and $27.12/kg for balancing wind.