Nuclear energy is an important source of low-carbon electricity and thus plays a significant role in avoiding carbon emissions. It has the potential to decarbonise the global energy sector even further by also providing heat for industrial applications and residential heating, which both continue to run mainly on fossil fuels. More than 65 nuclear reactors around the world (about 15% of the total) with decades of experience demonstrate on a daily basis the feasibility of providing non-electric applications of nuclear energy such as district heating, desalination or other forms of process heat.

In order to further reduce carbon emissions, the share of nuclear reactors used for cogeneration needs to be expanded. However, until recently the economic competitiveness of thermal energy produced by nuclear power plants has been a challenge. Not accounting for climate change impacts, heat produced by gas- or coal-fired power plants has frequently been cheaper. Yet, as fossil fuel prices rise and carbon costs are increasingly accounted for, the economics of nuclear cogeneration begin to look more favourable. A good understanding of the technical realities and economics of nuclear cogeneration, including its implications for electricity and energy systems, is essential to take advantage of this changed environment. This NEA report provides a thorough overview of nuclear cogeneration, with a view to helping energy decisionmakers and interested experts in assessing the costs and benefits of having nuclear energy provide both low-carbon electricity and low-carbon heat.