Abstract
Energy consumption in the transportation sector is dominated by petroleum-based liquids. However, oil’s dominance may begin to be challenged by advancing technologies. Uncertainty about the security of oil supplies, the prospect of rising oil prices, and environmental concerns about carbon and other emissions from the combustion of petroleumbased fuels pose challenges to countries that are experiencing rapid motorization and have to import large portions of their transportation fuel supplies. As a result, future trends in transportation demand may be influenced significantly by government policies directed at reducing emissions and congestion while promoting alternative fuels, new vehicle technologies, and mass transit. Market forces and government policies may drive further development of highly efficient vehicle technologies, including hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), all-electric vehicles (AEVs), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The technologies are promising, with the potential to alter future demand for transportation fuels, reduce emissions, improve energy security, and provide significant energy savings. The market for High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) in the transportation sector is potentially very large, especially if there is significant demand and market penetration for advanced vehicles. The steam-cycle HTGR is a demonstrated technology and could be deployed in a relatively short time frame to supply electricity for AEVs. Hydrogen production using thermochemical water splitting and high temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) are longerterm, developmental technologies that can be coupled to HTGRs to provide hydrogen for FCEVs. This paper provides specific analyses and comparisons of HTGR concepts with existing commercial nuclear and fossil-fueled plants in terms of potential CO2 reductions in the transportation sector.
