A single NuScale Power ModuleTM (NPM) coupled to a reverse osmosis desalination system could yield approximately 150 million gal./d of clean water without generating carbon dioxide. 12 NPM's would be able to provide desalinated water for a city of 2.3 million residents and also have surplus power to provide 400 000 homes with electricity.
A novel approach to hydrogen production and industrial brine reuse
While NuScale’s Power Modules offer an immediate solution for cleanly powering desalination, the resulting brine production remains an environmental challenge. To address this issue, the research team at NuScale Power developed a new approach for hydrogen storage, transport, and production that uses leftover brine from the desalination process as industrial feedstock.
NuScale partnered with experts at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to examine hydrogen production from an inert salt drawn from water desalination byproducts that is safe and easy to transport. The company’s hydro-thermal chemical decomposition approach to hydrogen production does not require electrolysis of water, driving down energy and water usage while lowering costs. Moreover, it is carbon-free if the energy for the conversion processes comes from NuScale’s integrated energy systems.
The research on this novel approach was presented at the World Petrochemical Conference in March 2025. It demonstrates progress for both desalination and clean hydrogen, processes with historically challenging issues ranging from how to handle brine waste to concerns about the carbon-intensity of hydrogen production.
“The near-term predictions of global water scarcity have become increasingly alarming while the interest and financial incentives for producing clean hydrogen continue to grow,” said Dr. José Reyes, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of NuScale Power. “What we have found is a win-win-win aimed at addressing water scarcity, brine remediation, and hydrogen production. We believe our innovation can meet our global water challenges while providing clean, carbon-free energy.”
NuScale has also developed an Integrated Energy System simulator for hydrogen production (high-temperature steam electrolysis mode), hydrogen storage, and hydrogen power production (fuel cell mode) at its headquarters in Corvallis, Oregon, US. The simulator enables the company to dynamically evaluate and optimise different configurations for a wide range of commercial scale industrial applications requiring greater than 200 tpd of hydrogen.
“NuScale continues to evaluate a wide range of SMR-powered hydrogen production methods,” added Reyes. “Our operations team, working with GSE Solutions and Fuel Cell Energy, developed and coupled a solid oxide electrolysis model for hydrogen production and a fuel cell model for power production to our main control room simulator. NuScale is the first SMR company to achieve this goal using integrated energy systems that support hydrogen production.”