As the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP29, draws to a close, countries around the world are developing and moving toward their emissions goals. While nations seek to dial down greenhouse gas emissions by electrifying sectors like transportation and energy production, Ukraine stands to realize a significant portion of its own emissions reductions by decarbonizing a sector at the center of its national identity: its steel industry. 

PNNL is partnering with several institutions, including the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Economy, and a range of industry organizations, to jointly develop a roadmap for rebuilding, modernizing, and decarbonizing Ukraine’s steel sector with SMRs. The project supports the U.S. Department of State’s Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program. Launched in 2019, FIRST is a multiagency U.S. government initiative that provides capacity building support to partner countries exploring the potential for SMRs and other advanced nuclear reactor technologies. FIRST helps countries meet their clean energy needs consistent with the highest nuclear security, safety, and nonproliferation standards, in addition to helping partner countries safely and responsibly build an SMR or other advanced reactor program. Ukraine partnered with FIRST in 2021.

The goal of the project is to provide the Ukrainian government with a roadmap to pursue a flexible, informed path forward as the country rebuilds its steel sector. Innovative SMR technology will play a key role in this decarbonization roadmap for its ability to provide dedicated, scalable, and dispatchable clean energy to the steelmaking process. 

This project, known as Clean Steel, was announced by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins and Ukraine Minister of Energy German Galushchenko at the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. They were joined by U.S. Department of Energy Acting Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy Dr. Michael Goff, H.E. Yuriy Husyef, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Director of Argonne National Laboratory Paul Kearns, and Neil Wilmshurst, Chief Nuclear Strategy Officer of the Electric Power Research Institute. 

The roadmap will be co-crafted in partnership with Ukrainian stakeholders who will provide technical data and feedback over the course of the year-long project. Other U.S. partners include Argonne National Laboratory, Hatch, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.  

Of all sectors where emissions can be reduced, steelmaking represents a significant portion of potential carbon-reduction gains. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s steel sector was responsible for 75 percent of the country’s industrial emissions through intensive use of coal in the process. The steel sector was a key part of Ukraine’s national identity, producing over 10 percent of Ukrainian GDP and employing roughly 566,000 people. For every one worker in the Ukrainian steel industry, four and a half jobs were created in other industries, said PNNL Earth scientist and stakeholder engagement lead Nazar Kholod.

“Our goal is to provide objective, scientific information to the Ukrainian government so they can assess all possible decarbonization pathways before them,” said Kholod. “Historically, steelmaking has been an energy-intensive, polluting industry. We now have the opportunity to restore one of Ukraine’s key industries while providing clean, reliable energy in line with the European Union’s climate goals.” 

Though still under development, future SMR technology holds several unique advantages when deployed in accordance with relevant safety, security, and nonproliferation standards. Chief among these advantages is the fact that SMRs can produce electricity while generating clean hydrogen and the kind of high-temperature heat needed for steelmaking. 

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, nuclear power provided just over half of Ukraine’s energy production. That history translates to a skilled labor force already familiar with nuclear energy production, said Kholod. SMRs can also be placed near steel plants, which means less cost spent on transmission infrastructure. 

“Our team is excited to explore the unique capabilities offered by SMRs for delivering clean, reliable energy to the steelmaking process in smaller, locally deployed increments that complement the existing fleet of large baseload nuclear plants. And we look to provide suggestions on how to achieve the vision of the roadmap through policy, regulatory, workforce development, and other actions,” said PNNL technical lead Donald Todd.

Previous PNNL research has found that Ukraine’s geography lends itself to renewable energy sources—like bioenergy and solar power—but SMRs can complement those sources with consistent dispatchable power. SMRs can likely be built and deployed faster than traditional nuclear reactors, too. 

“We have a unique combination of skills and talents on our team that we believe can be utilized to help Ukraine to rebuild, modernize, and decarbonize their steel industry,” said Program Manager Kelsey Allen.