As the U.S. pushes for cleaner energy, nuclear power plants are stepping up to produce hydrogen without the heavy carbon emissions that come from today’s most common methods. Right now, 95% of U.S. hydrogen comes from a process called steam methane reforming, which releases 9 to 12 kg of CO2 for every kilogram of hydrogen made. Nuclear-powered methods cut that down to just 1 to 3 kg of CO2 per kilogram.
Nuclear power is slashing hydrogen’s carbon footprint — from 12 kg of CO2 per kilogram down to just 3.
Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station in Oswego, New York, became the first U.S. nuclear plant to produce clean hydrogen when it started operations in February 2023. The 1 MW facility is designed to produce around 560 kg of hydrogen daily. It’s supported by a $5.8 million Department of Energy grant and uses that hydrogen directly for plant operations, replacing hydrogen that used to be trucked in.
Westinghouse is working on a bigger vision. The company’s developing high-temperature steam electrolysis that uses both heat and electricity from nuclear reactors. Its conceptual design connects a hydrogen production island to its AP1000 reactor. A single reactor could potentially power a 100 MW hydrogen plant, producing up to 150,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen each year. The U.S. DOE has awarded funding to move this work forward.
NuScale Power’s taking a different approach. The company’s combining its small modular reactors with desalination technology. A single NuScale module could produce up to 150 million gallons of clean water daily. Reportedly, using the leftover brine from that process, the system can also make hydrogen without traditional electrolysis, saving both energy and water. Researchers presented this work in March 2025.
The scale of what’s possible is striking. Ten nuclear reactors using these methods could produce 1.5 million tonnes of hydrogen annually, covering about 15% of current U.S. production. Demand for carbon-free hydrogen is expected to grow tenfold by 2050. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s Section 45V tax credit now allows existing nuclear plants to qualify for clean hydrogen incentives, which could help keep older plants running while adding a new revenue stream. The DOE’s Hydrogen Shot initiative aims to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen production to $1 per kilogram within a decade, further strengthening the economic case for nuclear-powered hydrogen. Beyond energy, clean hydrogen has significant industrial applications, including in fertilizer, transportation, and heavy industries such as steel and iron, with global hydrogen production already exceeding 60 million tons annually, more than half of which is used as feedstock for ammonia production.
References
- https://www.nuclearny.org/clean-hydrogen/
- https://info.westinghousenuclear.com/blog/westinghouse-explores-clean-hydrogen-production-at-nuclear-power-plants
- https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/nuclear-eligible-under-updated-us-hydrogen-credit-rules
- https://www.nuscalepower.com/press-releases/2025/nuscale-advances-clean-water-and-hydrogen-production-with-breakthrough-research
- https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/could-hydrogen-open-new-markets-nuclear
- https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/hydrogen-production-with-operating-nuclear-power-plants.pdf
