tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post114373610143747591..comments2024-03-07T02:00:01.582-05:00Comments on NEI Nuclear Notes: Skip Bowman on Global Nuclear BuildUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post-1143789503361100612006-03-31T02:18:00.000-05:002006-03-31T02:18:00.000-05:00Not necessarily. Regardless of what happens with ...Not necessarily. Regardless of what happens with fuel cells and hydrogen-powered cars and even if the technology and infrastructure are developed amazingly quickly, anyone who has been following the "hydrogen economy" closely knows that the applications that Bowman mentions will be the first applications of any nuclear hydrogen-producing technology.<BR/><BR/>Simply put, these technologies are available and are being used now. Therefore, if one wants to talk about deploying commercial HTR's in 2025 -- which means working to develop the technology now -- then one should focus on these applications, since they are the applications that the first HTR's will be used for.<BR/><BR/>In case some of our readers are unaware, extracting oil from tar sands is a process heat application and has nothing directly to do with hydrogen production (i.e., ignoring the possibility that the oil that is extracted might need to be "sweetened" with hydrogen).Brian Mayshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13962229896535398120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post-1143742086971923512006-03-30T13:08:00.000-05:002006-03-30T13:08:00.000-05:00I think it is really interesting what Bowman says,...I think it is really interesting what Bowman says, and does not say, about hydrogen.<BR/><BR/>He mentions "using advanced hydrogen production technologies, co-located with oil refineries and coal gasification plants, providing hydrogen they require to upgrade coal and the heavy crude oils of the future into usable products.<BR/>[...]<BR/>to extract oil from tar sands<BR/>[...]"<BR/><BR/>This is important as it is a hint at the peaking of global oil production in general and of light easily refined crudes in particular (the latter has probably already peaked).<BR/><BR/>What is also important that he specifically NOT mentions hydrogen fool cells.<BR/><BR/>It seems even the people in charge are starting to understand that technology is a dead end.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com