District heating with small modular reactors utilising an adaptive α-value

Abstract: Globally District Heating (DH) is, in large parts, produced in fossil fired heat plants, why finding “low” carbon or carbon-free alternatives is an important path towards the decarbonisation of the heat sector. With the emergence of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), heretofore economically unattractive nuclear commodities have become realities. One such is the possibility to utilise SMRs for co-generation of DH and electricity. A literature study concluded that SMR DH is gaining traction within the research community; the main attraction with the technology being the possibility to locate sites close to the consumption, thus alleviating the main counterargument against DH with conventional Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs).    To investigate how a SMR would behave, a DH production model using linear programming was adapted to simulate a SMR with an adaptive α-value (heat-to-power ratio). The system was applied both as base-load and mid-load, in the latter an ad-hoc electricity mode was implemented. In the base-load case the system yielded capacity factors on par with conventional thermal power plants, for the mid-load system the capacity factor was significantly lower. A basic economic analysis concluded that the LCOE (Levelised Cost Of Energy) was on par with conventional heat plants.