How should China develop nuclear power? Where is the direction?

It was recently learned that the nuclear power safety inspection concluded at the end of August has now completed the verification report and submitted to the State Council. It is expected to be announced to the public in the near future. In addition, the development of the "Nuclear Power Safety Plan" is gradually being launched, or the draft will be issued before the end of the year. The "Long-Term Nuclear Power Development Plan" is also being revised. These indications indicate that the nuclear power projects that have been approved to start work will soon be "thawed" and the approval of new nuclear power projects will be restarted next year.

China will not abandon nuclear power Japan's Fukushima nuclear power accident has severely damaged Japan's economy. Whether or not radioactive materials can be eliminated as quickly as possible has also become a measure of whether or not nuclear safety is controllable. It has attracted worldwide attention.

Not long ago, Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Japanese government announced that the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 will be permanently closed, marking the period after the Fukushima nuclear accident entered the accident. “As far as I know, we must continue core cooling and finally achieve safe cold shutdown. It is imperative to expedite the treatment of 100,000 cubic meters of high-level radioactive waste and take effective measures to prevent the diffusion or penetration of radioactive materials into the surrounding environment.” China Nuclear Energy Zhao Chengkun, vice chairman of the industry association, introduced the current situation of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at the previous nuclear industry and nuclear technology industry seminar. “Although the current nuclear radiation level of the plant is too high to enter, the conditions should be promptly entered once they are available. Investigate and understand the damage to the equipment and buildings on the site; also start repairing the operation platform damaged by hydrogen explosion to prepare for the next phase of the accident.”

The reporter was informed that TEPCO recently provided a schedule for the decommissioning of the damaged units of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and gradually promoted the closure of several units. In this regard, Zhao Chengkun said that the hardest or most critical task now is to remove damaged or melted nuclear fuel from the reactor, and the premise for this work is to repair the severely damaged working platform. However, due to the high level of radiation, it is difficult to enter the repair work. “Without three years, it is difficult to recover.”

On September 12th, an explosion of a boiler used to handle nuclear waste in an affiliated facility of the Marquee nuclear power plant in France caused the death of one person and injured four people. The French Nuclear Safety Agency and the French Electric Power Company stated that the explosion was an industrial accident, not a nuclear explosion. Following the nuclear leakage incident in Fukushima, Japan, the issue of nuclear safety has attracted worldwide attention. The French nuclear explosion once again awakened the world. Where does nuclear power go?

In the six months after the Fukushima nuclear accident, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland chose to abandon their nuclear programs. However, the United States, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and some developing countries stated that their policy on the peaceful use of nuclear energy remains unchanged.

“The final attitude of Japan does not seem to be very clear, because nuclear energy accounts for one-third of its power supply. The ship is very difficult to turn around. Even if someone advocates giving up nuclear power and faces a huge power shortage, I’m afraid it will be too long for a long time. The lack of power is the best explanation for the recent restart of nuclear power stations after the Fukushima accident in Japan,” said Zhao Chengkun.

Japan's Fukushima nuclear power accident sounded a warning bell for China's nuclear power development. Does China have to develop nuclear power and how can it develop nuclear power?

Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council presided over the executive meeting of the State Council on March 16th, emphasizing that it is necessary to fully understand the importance and urgency of nuclear safety. Nuclear power should be developed first. The meeting decided to immediately conduct a comprehensive safety inspection of China’s nuclear facilities, effectively strengthen the safety management of the nuclear facilities currently under operation, comprehensively review the nuclear power plants under construction, strictly examine and approve new nuclear power projects, step up the preparation of the “Nuclear Power Safety Plan”, and adjust and improve “long-term nuclear power”. Prior to the approval of the "Development Plan" and "Nuclear Power Safety Plan", the approval of nuclear power projects shall be suspended, including the projects for the preliminary work.

"The Fukushima nuclear accident will have a negative impact on China's nuclear power in a certain period of time." Zhao Chengkun said that the negative effects include the government's adjustment of nuclear power development speed and planning, the public's confidence in the safety of nuclear power, and the suspension of approval of new projects. And the delay of the multi-billion-dollar batch of uncompleted projects has also affected the manufacturing of nuclear power equipment.

It is understood that the Chinese government has not approved new nuclear power plants this year. The four units that have been approved and have yet to start are also in a standstill. Some of these power plants have already invested billions of yuan in up-front costs, and some nuclear power equipment manufacturers' orders have been interrupted. The latest signs indicate that China will continue to develop nuclear power.

"As a big country with a large population and energy problems, China cannot give up nuclear power." As the development of the entire nuclear power industry fell into a downturn, Zhang Guobao, deputy director of the Economic Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former director of the National Energy Administration, publicly stated that it was With the gradual depletion of fossil fuels and expensive trends, and from the perspective of climate and environmental carrying capacity, China’s efforts to develop renewable energy while developing nuclear power are irreplaceable alternatives. Otherwise, the proportion of non-fossil energy will hardly reach the promise of 2020. 15 %.

Zhang Guobao believes that the state should have a clear position on its future nuclear policy. If the ambiguity is not clear, there is no clear development goal that will not only affect energy policy, but also shake our nuclear power status.

At the “2011 Nuclear Power Sustainable Development Summit Forum” held on September 22, authoritative figures in the industry stated that although the nuclear accident in Japan has caused the slowdown in the development of China's nuclear power, the tone of the policy to support nuclear power’s future “safe, green, and efficient” development is not Will change.

Inland nuclear power is a trend-related data. As of the end of 2010, there were 441 in-transit reactors worldwide, with a total installed capacity of 375 million kilowatts, providing 15% of the world's electricity supply, and 30 countries with nuclear power had 14,000 reactors. Years of operating experience. Of the 441 nuclear power units, inland units accounted for half. Among them, in the United States, the inland nuclear power generating units accounted for 62.8% of the 105 operating units, the inland units accounted for 69.5% of the 58 operating units in France, the inland units accounted for 85.7% of the 14 operating units in Canada, and the inland units accounted for the Russian operating units. 58%.

Based on the dense population of China's inland areas, once nuclear accidents occur, they will be considered very seriously. Early nuclear power plants in China were built on the coast. At present, China's first inland nuclear power projects have not started construction.

Unlike China’s nuclear power in China, which expects a “zero breakthrough”, developed countries in the world have already had rich experience in the construction and operation of inland nuclear power. “The current status of nuclear power development in foreign countries confirms that many countries have built a number of inland riverside or inland lakeside nuclear power plants while building a coastal nuclear power plant, and have achieved good safety performance.” Cui Shaozhang, Deputy General Manager, Huaneng Nuclear Power Development Corporation Introduction. The reporter learned that in addition to Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hunan, Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, Henan, Anhui and other inland provinces also have the intention to develop nuclear power. “Now as long as the first batch of inland projects are successfully built, other provinces have experience to learn from. Therefore, it is the national policy and time that are needed for the construction of inland nuclear power, said Cui Shaozhang.

According to Zhang Guobao, Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi are primary energy-deficit regions. In the peak period of electricity consumption every year, power shortage is the most serious. One of the major problems in central China is the imbalance between hydropower and thermal power. During the wet season in summer, the local hydroelectricity can not be consumed, and in the dry season in winter, it is necessary to transfer electricity from other provinces. If a large number of coal-fired power plants are built in Central China, thermal power will make way for more hydropower, and the efficiency will be poor. Prior to the Fukushima nuclear accident, these provinces had high enthusiasm for nuclear power and demand was very strong. Therefore, the National Energy Administration also moderately deployed several inland nuclear power plants and allowed for preparatory work. In fact, these nuclear power plant sites were established as early as the Ministry of Electric Power and have waited for many years. For example, Hunan Taohuajiang, Hubei Daxie, and Jiangxi Pengze all reported to go up, but before they had time to approve, the Fukushima nuclear accident came out. After the Fukushima nuclear accident, many provinces inland had a fear of nuclear power development. Some provinces even said that they would not engage in it. Others said that they would not be so big. Some people think that we are not very fast now. The opinions are all there. At present, the examination and approval of China's nuclear power is basically stagnant, and it is now waiting for the Nuclear Power Safety Plan.

According to Zhang Guobao, the “Nuclear Power Safety Plan” includes two parts: the National Nuclear Safety Administration does nuclear safety planning, the National Energy Administration does nuclear power safety planning, and the nuclear safety plan covers nuclear power safety planning. There are crossovers between the two plans themselves and they need to be pooled. There are currently no plans for nuclear safety in foreign countries to learn from it. What exactly should be done is still being explored.

The nuclear power equipment industry is ready to go. An industry expert told the reporter that apart from the "nuclear power long-term development plan" and "nuclear power safety planning" are being urgently revised, the relevant departments are still working on the "12th Five-Year Plan" specialization for nuclear power equipment manufacturing industry. planning". These indications indicate that the nuclear power equipment manufacturing industry will bid farewell to the shadow of Japan’s nuclear accident and turn to a warmer period.

It is understood that the "Nuclear Power Medium and Long Term Development Plan" promulgated in 2007 is being urgently revised. By 2015, China's installed nuclear power capacity will reach 40 million kilowatts. Compared with the previous target of 86 million kilowatts that has been adjusted, the installed target for 2020 will be further reduced, but it will not be lower than 60 million kilowatts. This means that on the basis of the current installed capacity of nearly 12 million kilowatts, the installed capacity in 2020 will increase more than 5 times than in 2010. Some experts pointed out that although the revised "Mid-term and long-term development plan for nuclear power," the proposed 2020 target may be less than 86 million kilowatts, but because of policies continue to promote the safe and efficient development of nuclear power attitude is becoming clear, the actual installed capacity in 2020 will be very May exceed this number. At present, the 16 million kilowatts of installed capacity projects have already carried out preliminary work and are waiting for construction. With the restart of the new project approval gate in the future, this 16 million-kilowatt installed project will be the first to enter the comprehensive construction phase.

According to the analysis, this means that, no matter how much nuclear power installation target is reached in the next 10 years, nuclear power equipment manufacturers will take the lead in sharing the market “cake” brought by this 16 million-kilowatt installation. According to the investment cost of a million kilowatt-class nuclear power plant of 20,000 yuan/kilowatt, the market size brought by the 16 million kilowatts installed capacity will reach 320 billion yuan. By 2015, China's installed nuclear power capacity will reach 40 million kilowatts, and the nuclear power equipment market will reach 800 billion yuan; by 2020, the installed capacity will not be lower than 60 million kilowatts. The scale of nuclear power equipment market is expected to reach trillions of yuan.

Experts who participated in nuclear power safety inspections told reporters that the forthcoming Nuclear Power Safety Plan proposes that new nuclear power projects should be designed in accordance with international advanced standards to design third-generation nuclear power plants. Nuclear power technology and equipment should be fully introduced including AP1000 (United States The third-generation nuclear power technologies, including the original passive pressure water reactors of Westinghouse and EPR (European pressurized water reactors developed by Areva Technology, France), also require large-capacity equipment as much as possible. Both safety indicators and quality standards are higher than the original. The "long-term nuclear power development plan" is even higher.

A person of Dongfang Heavy Machinery under the Dongdian Group told the reporter that after the nuclear accident in Japan, nuclear power plant operators put forward higher requirements for the safety performance of the equipment and directly affected the delivery speed of the equipment. It is understood that the suspension of the approval of nuclear power projects and a series of policy measures, leading to the domestic major equipment suppliers nearly 40 billion yuan orders were stopped delivery.

It is understood that the number of third-generation nuclear power demonstration projects currently under construction in China has reached six, including four AP1000s imported from the US Westinghouse Company and two EPR technology projects imported from Areva, France. Experts stated that the policy has pushed for the completion of these demonstration projects before 2014. At the same time, China's major nuclear power equipment manufacturers have been promoted to fully enhance the integration of nuclear power equipment design and manufacturing capabilities as well as independent research and development capabilities of key materials. In 2015, we will strive to achieve stable production capacity of 12 sets of key equipment such as nuclear island equipment and conventional island turbines.

A long way to go with localization of equipment Huang Yu, deputy director of the Energy Conservation and Technology Equipment Division of the National Energy Administration, said recently that although China's current nuclear power plant approval has been temporarily suspended, nuclear power development has not stopped. China's nuclear power development is in a capacity accumulation period, not a wait-and-see period, nor a stagnation period. “The current position is to focus on localization, and the relevant departments and bureaus of the National Energy Administration are making localization, adjusting the safety and pace to prepare for the next step in the development of nuclear power.”

"This is the first time we have held an industrial appraisal meeting for nuclear power equipment." Yan Yongbin, chief engineer of the China Machinery Industry Federation, said, "This means that our homemade nuclear power station graphite seals can be mass-produced after industrial operation evaluation. Large-scale promotion.” On September 17, 2011, entrusted by the National Energy Administration, China Machine Group organized an industrial appraisal meeting for nuclear power station graphite seal products organized in Beijing. After the operation assessment of several nuclear power plants in China, no problem has occurred in the application of the seal.

Graphite seals are widely used in pressure vessels, valves, pumps, pipelines, and heat exchangers in nuclear power plants. They are important components to ensure non-nuclear leakage under strong radiation, high-temperature, and high-voltage alternating operating conditions. Although graphite gaskets are only a few millimeters thick, with large diameters of five or six meters and small ones as small as 15 centimeters, in a nuclear power plant reactor of millions of kilowatts, its amount is not only more than 3,000 pieces, but also in each of the nuclear power plants. The overhaul cycle must be replaced.

"Seal is directly related to the safe operation of nuclear power plants. In the past, the technology and products in this field have been monopolized by several foreign companies such as LATTY. The domestic nuclear grade graphite gaskets have always depended on imports." Yan Yongbin introduced.

The industrially certified nuclear power station graphite seal products were jointly completed by Ningbo Tiansheng Seals Co., Ltd., China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., Daya Bay Nuclear Power Operation and Management Company, Qinshan Third Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., and Nuclear Power Qinshan Joint Venture Co., Ltd. It is understood that graphite seals such as graphite gaskets, fillers and spiral wound gaskets have been used in Qinshan Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 nuclear power plants of China Nuclear Power Group, Qinshan Second Expansion Nuclear Power Station, Tianwan Nuclear Power Station, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station, and Ling In the nuclear grade system of the nuclear power plant of the first phase of Australia, it passed the industrial operation assessment.

"We operate heavy water reactor nuclear power plants, most of the equipment imported from abroad, a lot of replacement seals during maintenance, if you use the original manufacturer's products, not only long procurement cycle, and the price is very expensive." According to Qinshan Third Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. Zhang Zhao introduced that now the company uses natural seals on important and auxiliary process systems. On the day of the industrial appraisal meeting, the experts gave the results of the appraisal of “good product tightness, stable performance and quality, high reliability, and service life that meets the operational requirements of nuclear power plants”.

The most direct effect of localization of equipment is to incite foreign market monopolies. Yan Yongbin deeply feels this. He once said that localization of energy equipment has broken the market monopoly of foreign companies, effectively stabilized market prices, forcing foreign products to drastically reduce prices, and made great contributions to reducing the cost of projects for users. He also cited examples such as imports of millions of kilowatts of nuclear power vessels, 600,000 kilowatts of air-cooled power station air coolers, and long-distance natural gas pipelines, large ball valves, etc., which are all reduced by more than 50%. The localization of this small seal has drastically reduced the price of foreign products by more than 70%. Taking the quotation of RCCM 1, 2, and 3 pipeline flange type graphite gaskets in two M310 units as an example, in 2006, the foreign companies and natural offers were 37 million yuan and 3.6 million yuan respectively. By 2010, two The quotes were 5.85 million yuan and 2.85 million yuan respectively.

At the end of 2008, Fangjiashan and Fuqing nuclear power station gaskets were invited for international bidding. In this match with foreign sealed giants on the same stage, Ningbo Tiansheng won the right to bid, creating a precedent for international companies in the nuclear sector. “When we cannot do it, foreign quotations are as high as tens of millions of yuan, and once localization is achieved, the price immediately “jumps off.” It can be said that localization not only reduces the construction cost of nuclear power plants, but also improves reliability. “Huang Wei told reporters that apart from the seals, we have many products that can compete with foreign countries and can decide on a platform.

In recent years, a group of equipment manufacturing companies represented by China's three major power groups have achieved achievements in the development of nuclear power equipment. At present, domestic leading nuclear power equipment manufacturers such as Dongdian Group, Shanghai Electric, and Harbin Power Group have the manufacturing capabilities of AP1000's third-generation technology.

Shanghai Electric Group Corporation, with a solid nuclear power equipment industry base, has invested more than 3 billion yuan to build a heavy machinery and equipment base in Lingang New City, Shanghai, specializing in the production of large-scale nuclear power equipment, including nuclear island main equipment and turbines and generators of over 1 million kilowatts. At the same time can also produce 200,000 kilowatts of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor pressure vessels and other heavy equipment.

Harbin Power Station Equipment Group, which is responsible for digesting the third-generation nuclear power technology transferred from the United States and used for the production of independent equipment in China, completed the second phase of the Haikou base project in Qinhuangdao, marking that China now has the conditions for producing the third-generation AP1000 nuclear power unit. The main goal is to develop nuclear-kilowatt-class nuclear islands, million-kilowatt supercritical units and ultra-supercritical units. It will produce the first third-generation AP1000 nuclear power unit for Zhejiang Sanmen Power Station.

According to the agreement, Westinghouse and its major subcontractors promised to transfer core technologies such as AP1000 main pump, AP1000 blast valve, containment vessel, pressure vessel, steam generator, integrated head and operation management to the Chinese side.

The main feature of the third-generation AP1000 nuclear power unit that is different from the second-generation pressurized water reactor nuclear power unit is the “non-active” safety system, which makes the design of reactors simpler, and the probability of core damage is negligible, further improving the safety of nuclear power plants. And reliability.

Yang Zichun, chief engineer of nuclear power design at the Second Research and Design Institute of China's Nuclear Industry Institute, said that the “non-active” design concept is to use inherent thermal and hydraulic properties to simplify the design of safety systems so that the safety of nuclear power plants is no longer dependent on active equipment such as pumps and fans. The operation eliminated the diesel generators and other systems, reduced the amount of bulk materials, and improved the safety and economy of the units.

Yang Zichun said that after China's introduction of the third-generation AP1000 technology line, the greater challenge it faces is whether it can be digested and absorbed as soon as possible, and then innovate on this basis to achieve independent design, autonomous construction, autonomous commissioning, and autonomous operation.

Zhejiang, a large manufacturing province, has set its target on nuclear auxiliary equipment manufacturing such as pumps, valves, fans, pressure vessels, cables, hangers, cable trays, chemical materials, switchgear, and meters. Zero breakthrough."

The nuclear power industry is a high-tech strategic industry and has become an important symbol of the world's economy, technology, power, and industry. Nuclear power equipment is a special kind of equipment. It not only has a high technical content, but also has a high quality performance requirement. Zhang Guobao believes that the degree of localization of key nuclear power equipment manufacturing capabilities will become one of the key factors in the development of nuclear power. In recent years, the localization of nuclear power equipment has advanced very well. China's equipment manufacturing industry has significantly increased its own level of manufacturing, and achieved the autonomous manufacture of a number of key equipment such as reactor pressure vessels, steam generators, control systems, and main pumps. There are also many innovations in nuclear power plant forgings, and now there is still a gap between the main pump and foreign countries. China's nuclear power owners must have confidence in the localization of equipment and work together to promote technological breakthroughs. Otherwise, China’s nuclear power can never go faster, and it will never develop much.

Regarding the enthusiasm of domestic manufacturers for the localization of nuclear power equipment, Xu Lianyi, director of the China National Machinery Industry Federation Nuclear Power Office, believes that it is not entirely the cause of profits. The production of nuclear power equipment is highly technical, and companies are more likely to view nuclear power equipment as an opportunity to prove their equipment manufacturing capabilities. Companies want to produce nuclear power products and shape high-quality brands to gain a bigger connected market.

However, judging from the current status of China's nuclear power equipment manufacturing industry, China's nuclear power has not yet formed a complete industrial chain. A nuclear power plant has more than 300 systems, requiring tens of thousands of sets of spare parts, large and small, and China's current supporting manufacturers are very fragmented, in urgent need of integration and optimized configuration. Qinshan Phase II equipment procurement experience shows that nuclear-specific equipment accounts for 25% of the total equipment, accounting for 54% of the total investment in equipment; non-nuclear-level other equipment accounts for 75% of the total, accounting for 46% of the total investment. Objectively speaking, most of the Chinese enterprises produce non-nuclear-grade equipment. There is still a big gap between the quality of products and the international advanced level. Shen Wenquan, deputy director of the China National Nuclear Corporation's Science and Technology Commission, told reporters that domestic equipment supply companies still have to work hard. For instance, domestic circulating pumps rarely meet requirements.

It is very difficult for Chinese companies to pass the nuclear power plants under construction or in the future to introduce third-generation nuclear power technologies. This means that the requirements for nuclear power equipment will be higher and more demanding. This tone may not be good for current domestic nuclear equipment manufacturers. .

On July 18th, the Ministry of Finance issued the "Circular on Adjusting the Import Tax Policies for Major Generations of Major Nuclear Equipment, and Other Major Technical Equipment," which stipulates that tariffs and import value-added tax shall be exempted for key components such as third-generation nuclear power plants, including millions of kilowatts of nuclear power units. Nuclear island equipment, conventional island equipment, nuclear-grade pumps, and nuclear-grade valves are among the components. The industry generally believes that the adjustment of tariffs on relevant imported equipment is a signal that the nuclear power equipment market has started. However, due to the technical barriers and monopolization of foreign companies, the cakes of nuclear power equipment are large, and it is difficult for Chinese enterprises to give birth.

A senior nuclear energy expert disclosed in an interview with reporters that the major technical equipment of the third-generation nuclear power generating units that are subject to import tariff reductions by the State are not available to domestic nuclear power equipment companies. While China announced the use of the AP1000 technology of the US Westinghouse Company as its unified standard for third-generation nuclear power, it also decided that it must accept the other's monopoly on technology and core equipment.

The expert said that in the nuclear power plants using AP1000 technology, some of the core components including domestic pumps, thermal circulators, and valve bodies cannot be manufactured by domestic companies. Some products are difficult to meet the requirements for use and it is difficult to have production capacity in the short term. . Therefore, the monopoly of foreign companies for the third-generation nuclear power core equipment is not temporary but long-term. Currently, domestic nuclear power equipment companies can still have some shares in the non-Island equipment market; however, there are only a handful of equipment on the island. Several companies have production capacity.

According to the above-mentioned experts, nuclear power related companies purchased parts of the pressure valve from domestic companies, but most of the purchased products were discarded due to their inability to meet the requirements for use, causing significant losses. Therefore, the expert believes that due to the monopoly of AP1000 technology and equipment by foreign companies, China will use nuclear power as the main route for developing nuclear power in the future, or it will rely on imports to obtain equipment and components in the longer term.