PROGRAM DETAILS - U.S. Department of Energy

Status
Budget:
Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative
25
19 19
23
FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009
* Request U Appropriation
History
FY 2009 Congressional Request: $16,600,000
FY 2009 House Mark: $16,600,000
FY 2009 Senate Mark: $10,000,000
People:
Number of federal FTEs: 3
Performance:
FY 2007 Budget Measure Status: 1 Green, 0 Yellow, 0 Red
Created in 2003, NHI develops new technologies to generate hydrogen (and oxygen as a
byproduct) on a commercial scale in an economic and environmentally safe manner. Hydrogen
is used in bio-fuel production to boost the energy value of existing fossil fuels, making them
bur much cleaner. It is also used in the production of liquid fuels from our vast domestic
resources of coal, tar oil sands and oil shale. The primary challenge to the increased use of
hydrogen as part of the Nation's overall energy infrastructure is the cost associated with its
production, storage, and delivery. While hydrogen can be produced from readily available
sources such as natural gas and water, existing hydrogen production methods are either
inefficient or produce greenhouse gases, defeating a primary advantage of using hydrogen-its
enviromnental benefits.
Nuclear energy could play a significant role in hydrogen production as it has the potential to
efficiently produce large quantities of hydrogen without emitting greenhouse gases. The goal of
NHI is to demonstrate the economic, commercial-scale production of hydrogen using nuclear
energy. If successful, this research could lead to a large-scale, emissions-free, domestic hydrogen
production capability to fuel a future hydrogen economy.
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