Techno-economic and feasibility assessment for nuclear plants integration in flexible future energy systems for grid balancing and ancillary services

Project Description

Nuclear power and hydropower form the backbone of low-carbon electricity generation. Together, they provide three-quarters of global low-carbon generation. Over the past 50 years, the use of nuclear power has reduced CO2 emissions by over 60 Gtonnes – nearly two years’ worth of global energy-related emissions. However, in advanced economies, nuclear power has begun to fade, with plants closing and little new investment made, just when the world requires more low-carbon electricity. A range of technologies, including nuclear power, will be needed for clean energy transitions around the world. Global energy is increasingly based around electricity. That means the key to making energy systems clean is to turn the electricity sector from the largest producer of CO2 emissions into a low-carbon source that reduces fossil fuel emissions in areas like transport, heating and industry. While renewables are expected to continue to lead, nuclear power can also play an important part along with fossil fuels using carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Countries envisaging a future role for nuclear account for the bulk of global energy demand and CO2 emissions. But to achieve a trajectory consistent with sustainability targets – including international climate goals – the expansion of clean electricity would need to be three times faster than at present. It would require 85% of global electricity to come from clean sources by 2040, compared with just 36% today. Along with massive investments in efficiency and renewables, the trajectory would need an 80% increase in global nuclear power production by 2040. Nuclear power plants contribute to electricity security in multiple ways. Nuclear plants help to keep power grids stable. To a certain extent, they can adjust their operations to follow demand and supply shifts. As the share of variable renewables like wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) rises, the need for such services will increase. Nuclear plants can help to limit the impacts from seasonal fluctuations in output from renewables and bolster energy security by reducing dependence on imported fuels.

The aim of this thesis is to develop techno-economic models and feasibility assessments to investigate the performance and benchmark different solutions to support grid stability for grids relying on traditionally inflexible nuclear plants and inherently fluctuating renewables. The new ancillary services facilities should be connected to the 400/130kV system in Ekhyddan/Simpevarp and aiming at providing: synchronous voltage control, inertia, short circuit power contribution and short-term overload capability.

The MSc Thesis is performed in cooperation with Uniper/OKG, including the support of a dedicated supervisor. Compensation might be recognized at the end of the Thesis depending on the performance.

Main Deliverables

The main deliverables of the project include:

Final project report and presentation comprising description of project, literature review, integrated solution definition via specific layout and operation descriptions, techno-economic modelling technique (including main assumptions and equations), techno-economic performance assessment and system optimization, and final suggestions.
Models and user guidelines / instructions.