China's nuclear power ranks first in the world



Recently, the good news came from Fuqing, Fujian Province, that the second unit of China's independent third-generation nuclear power Hualong No. 1 demonstration project - CNNC Fuqing No. 6 nuclear power unit officially has the conditions for commercial transport, so far, Hualong No. 1 demonstration project has been fully completed and put into operation.

When the news broke, the world watched. As the "national business card" of China's nuclear power to the world, Hualong One is one of the three generations of nuclear power models with the highest acceptance in the current nuclear power market, and its full completion is a major achievement in China's nuclear power development in the new era, marking that China's nuclear power technology level and comprehensive strength rank first in the world, and strongly support China's leap from a nuclear power to a nuclear power.

Third generation nuclear power optimization scheme

"Hualong One is one of the three generation nuclear power models with the highest acceptance in the current nuclear power market. It is a third generation pressurized water reactor nuclear power innovation achievement with completely independent intellectual property rights developed and designed by CNNC on the basis of more than 30 years of nuclear power research, design, construction, operation and management experience. It meets the highest international safety standards and is fully equipped with mass construction capabilities. It has become China's third-generation nuclear power plan for contributing to the world." China National Nuclear Group relevant responsible person introduced.

What is a third-generation nuclear power plant? How are the generations of nuclear power plants divided? Since 1954, when the former Soviet Union built an experimental nuclear power plant with an electric power of 5 megawatts, the development of nuclear power technology can be divided into four generations.

The first generation of nuclear power plants refers to the experimental prototype nuclear power plants developed and constructed by various countries in the 1950s, which proved that the technology of using nuclear energy to generate electricity is feasible. The second generation refers to the majority of commercial nuclear power plants in operation from the 1970s to the present, proving that the development of nuclear power is economically viable. The third generation nuclear power plant refers to a new generation of advanced nuclear power plant technology that meets the requirements of the United States User Document (URD) or the European User Requirement Document (EUR) and has higher safety. Fourth generation nuclear power is a nuclear power plant with major innovations in the reactor and fuel cycle, which looks at the longer term development of nuclear energy, but will not be commercially available until after 2030 at the earliest.

According to Xing Ji, chief designer of China National Nuclear Group "Hualong One", Hualong One in the use of engineering proven mature technology based on the original use of "177 core arrangement" and "active and passive combination of" safety design concept, the first pile equipment localization rate of 88%, but also the use of single pile arrangement, double containment and other advanced design concepts. It has advanced features such as perfect serious accident prevention and mitigation measures, enhanced external event protection capability and improved emergency response capability, and has been fully analyzed, tested and verified by engineering, fully ensuring the safety, economy and advanced nature of the power plant.

Yu Jianfeng, secretary of the Party Group and chairman of the China National Nuclear Group, said that from Qinshan to Fuqing, China's nuclear power from the technical "poor white" start, to the independent design and construction of million-kilowatt nuclear power plants, China has become one of the few countries in the world with a complete nuclear industry system, and on this basis formed a complete nuclear power industry chain, to achieve the large-scale development of nuclear power.

The role of industry is significant

Where does Hualong One get the confidence to "go out"? Hualong One has complete independent intellectual property rights. In collaboration with 17 universities and research institutions in China, 58 state-owned enterprises and more than 140 private enterprises, CNPC jointly broke through the localization of 411 sets of equipment including core equipment such as reactor pressure vessels, steam generators and reactor internals, and obtained a total of more than 700 patents and more than 120 software Copyrights. It covers design technology, special design software, fuel technology, operation and maintenance technology and other fields to meet the requirements of nuclear power "going out".

"At present, the Hualong One has entered the mass construction stage, with projects under construction at home and abroad, and nearly 20 countries have expressed their intention to adopt the technology." Xing Ji introduced.

According to reports, CNNC actively responded to the "Belt and Road" initiative, implemented the national nuclear power "going out" strategy, promoted the overseas Hualong One project, and formed nuclear power project cooperation intentions with more than 20 countries and regions such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Brazil. Hualong One overseas demonstration project - Karachi Nuclear Power Unit 2 in Pakistan has been put into commercial operation, and Unit 3 has generated electricity. Among them, Unit 2 created the shortest construction period of the world's third-generation nuclear power overseas construction, and won the best practice case of international energy cooperation; In 2022, the general contract of Hualong One Argentina nuclear power project was signed.

For China, the active development of nuclear power can effectively drive exports and help steady economic growth. It is predicted that by 2030, the countries along the "Belt and Road" alone will build hundreds of new nuclear power units, a total of 115 million kilowatts of new nuclear power installed capacity. Each export of a nuclear power unit requires more than 60,000 sets of equipment, more than 200 enterprises to participate in manufacturing and construction, can create about 150,000 jobs, a single unit investment of about 30 billion yuan. The construction of Hualong One will drive more than 5,300 enterprises in the upstream and downstream industry chain, bringing huge economic benefits and transformation and upgrading opportunities for China's high-end equipment manufacturing industry.

Usher in greater space for development

Under the strategic goal of reaching the peak of carbon neutrality, China's economy and society have ushered in a broad and profound systemic change, and building a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system has become an important requirement to promote the energy revolution, and it is also an urgent need for the transformation and development of China's economy and society.

The Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and The State Council on Fully, Accurately and Comprehensively Implementing the New Development Concepts and Doing a good Job of Carbon Peaking and carbon Neutrality put forward that nuclear power should be actively, safely and orderly developed. The "Action Plan for Carbon Peak before 2030" also requires reasonable determination of the layout and development timing of nuclear power plants, orderly development of nuclear power under the premise of ensuring safety, and maintain a steady pace of construction.

At present, China's coal consumption accounts for a relatively high proportion, the stability of renewable energy is weak, which brings great challenges to the adjustment of energy structure. Experts said that nuclear energy generates electricity in a safe, efficient and clean way, operates stably and reliably, and provides a realistic option for tackling global climate change.

Taking Hualong One as an example, after the completion of the Hualong One demonstration project, the two units will have an annual power generation capacity of nearly 20 billion KWH, which is equivalent to reducing the consumption of standard coal by 6.24 million tons per year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 16.32 million tons, and equivalent to afforestation by 140 million trees, with significant economic, social and environmental effects. It is of great significance to optimize China's energy structure, promote green and low-carbon development, and help achieve the goal of peaking carbon neutrality.

In this regard, Chen Hesheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that the comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy has a very important strategic significance for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and is a key field for the country to achieve sustainable development energy strategy, and it is necessary to formulate scientific plans, increase investment, and strive to promote scientific research and industrialization in related fields. On the one hand, continue to vigorously develop a new generation of nuclear power technology, constantly improve safety, reduce emissions; On the other hand, nuclear energy is used for heating. With the development of technology, especially the gradual maturity of the fourth-generation nuclear energy system technology, nuclear heating and seawater desalination will play a greater role in the sustainable development of energy and water security.

In the context of the "dual carbon" goal, nuclear power has become an important option for energy transformation, and governments at all levels have increased their attention and investment in nuclear energy. In the "Government Work Report" of Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and other provinces this year, nuclear power is listed as the focus of work in 2022, and China's nuclear energy development will usher in greater space for development.