Carbon capture and valorisation using nuclear power: is it feasible?

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In 2020, Ontario had an electricity surplus of 17.2 TWh from low-carbon sources (enough to power nearly 2 million homes). Of this surplus, 7 TWh was curtailed (i.e. wasted), while the rest was exported at prices below the total cost of production. In 2018, Québec similarly curtailed 10 TWh of clean power. One way to make better use of Canada's clean electricity is to increase storage capacity, but storage capacity is expensive and has a sizeable environmental footprint. An alternative explored in this proposal is to use surplus clean energy in combination with the abundant waste heat of nuclear power plants to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and transform it into net-zero hydrocarbons like ethanol, methanol, and ultimately longer-chain products. These hydrocarbons can be used as feedstock for the chemical industry in lieu of petroleum products. This transformation requires heat and electricity, so using surplus power is a promising approach to make this carbon capture and valorisation (CCV) process economically viable. Our research team will compare national scale-storage to CCV, and explore the trade-offs involved using techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) tools. TEA and LCA will be used in an iterative fashion to assess methods for heat recovery from nuclear power plants and integration with CCV systems. In tandem, we will study and optimize electrochemical processes to produce hydrocarbons from captured CO2 from nuclear-generated steam and surplus electricity. Finally, we will study the materials degradation mechanisms that may occur during production of the hydrocarbons; results of our work will feed our TEA and LCA models to identify optimal solutions and suggest policy options to implement these technologies. This interdisciplinary research will be done in collaboration with Canadian nuclear industry stakeholders, which will provide pertinent technical and market data. Given the urgent need for Canada to further de-carbonise its electricity grid and industry, and to pursue more active carbon capture strategies, this project will provide a timely analysis to guide clean energy development and strengthen Canada's climate plan.