To be a leader in the high-quality development of the global nuclear energy industry

Along the way, what glory have China's nuclear power people gained and what challenges have they suffered? Under the background of "dual carbon", what new opportunities and risks are China's nuclear power industry facing? In the future, how to better achieve high-quality development, serve the national strategy, and benefit mankind? Around the above issues, the "State Assets Report" conducted an in-depth interview with Lu Tiezhong, assistant general manager of China National Nuclear Group and Secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of China Nuclear Power Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "China Nuclear Power"), to explore the answers to relevant questions.

Start: reflect the national will on behalf of national interests

 30 years ago, why did China develop nuclear power? Under what conditions did the old generation of nuclear power workers build Qinshan nuclear Power Plant from zero?

Lu Tiezhong: The nuclear industry is a high-tech strategic industry and an important cornerstone of national security. Nuclear power is the pearl in the crown of the nuclear industry chain, which has received great attention from the Party and state leaders from the initial stage, reflecting the national will and representing the national interests.

China's nuclear industry began on January 15, 1955.  In 1970, when Premier Zhou Enlai was briefed on the power shortage in Shanghai, he specifically pointed out that "the solution to the problem of electricity consumption in Shanghai and East China depends on nuclear power... The second engine department should not only be the explosive department, but also peaceful use of nuclear energy and nuclear power plants." On December 30, 1982, at the Fifth session of the Fifth National People's Congress, China solemnly announced the decision to build the Qinshan nuclear Power Plant. On March 20, 1985, the first tank of concrete was poured at the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, we gave full play to the institutional advantages of the country's one-game chess and centralized efforts to do major things, and a total of 18 ministries and commissions, more than 100 scientific research units, more than 600 manufacturers, and more than 10 construction units participated in the construction of Qinshan nuclear Power Plant.  China has become the seventh country in the world to design and build nuclear power plants by itself.

Through the construction of Qinshan Station, China has truly mastered nuclear power technology, trained nuclear power personnel, and established a systematic nuclear safety culture system and quality assurance system. So far, Qinshan nuclear Power Plant has exported more than 2,500 backbone and nearly 100 senior executives of nuclear power companies. It can be said that wherever there are nuclear power plants in China, there will be management, technology and talents exported by China National Nuclear Group Qinshan Nuclear Power Base. Thirty years later, Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant is still "strong" and running well. On the basis of the National Nuclear Safety Administration's agreement to extend the operation license, on November 5, 2021, the Zhejiang Energy Regulatory Office of the National Energy Administration completed the review and handling of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1's extended operation power business license, the validity period was extended to December 15, 2041, and the unit capacity was changed to 350MW, once again creating a precedent in the development of nuclear power technology in China.

Growth: Nuclear safety culture is the eternal pursuit of excellence for the soul

State Assets Report: Safety is the lifeline of the nuclear industry. How do you evaluate the safety level of nuclear power in China and the entire nuclear power industry in China? What do you think is the root cause of the safe operation of Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant for 30 years?

Lu Tiezhong: In more than 30 years, the operation level of China's nuclear power plants has achieved a leap from following and running to leading, and there has never been an incident or accident at or above level 2 of the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). In 2020, there will be about 440 nuclear power units in the world, of which more than 80 units have full marks, while 28 units out of nearly 50 units in China have reached full marks, accounting for about 1/3 of the world's full marks. In 2021, among the 22 nuclear power units in China that meet the accounting conditions, 19 units are expected to have full WANO composite index scores, and the number of full scores and the proportion of full scores are ranked first in the world, continuing to maintain a leading level. In my opinion, security not only depends on management, system and technology, but also depends on the cultivation and guidance of culture.

Looking back on the development of China's nuclear power for more than 30 years, China's nuclear power has always regarded nuclear safety culture as its soul and the pursuit of excellence as eternal. Bearing in mind that "safety is the lifeblood of the nuclear industry", we take ensuring safety as the top priority of our work and implement the concept of "rational, coordinated and balanced" nuclear security. Establish a sense of rule of law, a sense of danger, a sense of self-discipline, a sense of collaboration, adhere to a high level of safety culture, perseverance, a long time for success. We have put in place an operational system with security as the core. Clear leadership to make the example of safe production, policy decision-making, organizational construction, resource allocation with safe operation as the primary goal. Establish a command system for the safety production of nuclear power plants with the duty commander as the center, so that those who listen to the sound of gunfire have full decision-making power over nuclear safety matters. In the event of nuclear safety risks and challenges, the shift leader has the right to directly order the shutdown without consulting the company's leadership. We implement safety director inspection, experience feedback and other systems, develop and use equipment reliability management, human error prevention and other system tools, uphold conservative decision-making in production, strictly adhere to the safety margin.