Grasp the connotation of the modernization era of military theory

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The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that the modernization of military theory, military organization, military personnel and weapons and equipment should be promoted in an all-round way. The first position of the modernization of military theory in the "four modernizations" has been clarified, which has given our army a new connotation of the times and injected a strong impetus into the research and innovation of military theory. Analyzing the background of the modernization of military theory and clearly grasping its main characteristics and development trend will help us deepen the research and exploration of the modernization of military theory and vigorously promote the modernization of national defense and the army.


The background of modernization of military theory


To study the laws and characteristics of modernization of military theory, we should first analyze the background and requirements of modernization of military theory.


Judging from the development track of contemporary international military theory, the modernization of military theory is accompanied by the changes of strategic environment, military technology and war form. After World War II, with the formation of the Cold War pattern, superpowers sought nuclear hegemony, nuclear balance and nuclear deterrence, resulting in a military theory of nuclear deterrence based on "balance of terror". With the outbreak of the Middle East War and the Iran-Iraq War, local war has become a new form of war, and the theory of limited war and special war represents new achievements in the modernization of military theory. In the late 20th century, the fourth military revolution, represented by information technology, rose, and the information-based war stepped onto the historical stage. The war theory in the information age became the new theme of modern military theory.


In recent years, with the rapid development and application of new technologies such as big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, the war form has been accelerated to information and intelligence. In this context, the space, field and dimension of military activities are expanding day by day, which is more closely related to politics, economy, culture and law. In particular, the requirements of systematization, quantification and engineering of military theory are getting higher and higher. Military theory is becoming a comprehensive theory that permeates many disciplines such as social science, natural science and technical science, which objectively requires the internal development of military theory to be more systematic and scientific.


To this end, this paper tries to define the modernization of military theory as follows: using the outstanding achievements in politics, military affairs, science and technology, education, management and culture created by the contemporary world, through innovation, the country’s understanding and knowledge system of national defense and army building will reach the contemporary advanced level, leading the development of military organizational form, military personnel and weapons and equipment modernization level and its process. This definition mainly includes four meanings: first, the modernization of military theory is the goal to be achieved and the development process; Second, the soul of modernization of military theory is innovation; Third, to realize the modernization of military theory, we should make extensive use of the achievements of contemporary advanced civilization; Fourthly, the leading position and role of modernization of military theory in the modernization of the army are clarified.


Main characteristics of modernization of military theory


The magnificent military practice in contemporary times has bred fertile ground for the modernization of military theory, and the theoretical exploration of a hundred schools of thought has constructed the magnificent content of modern military theory system. From the interaction between theory and practice, we can preliminarily see the main characteristics of modernization of military theory.


The advance of thinking. The advance of thinking has the logical driving force of anticipating and opening up ideas in concept discovery, concept construction and system design, which reflects the core requirements of military theoretical innovation and embodies the distinctive indicators of military theoretical modernization. Judging from the innovative practice of contemporary military theory, military reform is not only a leap in military technology, the upgrading of weapons and equipment, but more importantly, the forward-looking driving and leading of thinking. The characteristics of advanced thinking are as follows: strong crisis concept, with the mission of defending national sovereignty and national security interests, judging the international strategic environment situation, grasping the overall situation of military threats, and planning the future military needs forward-looking; Foresight and insight, profoundly grasp the laws and characteristics of modern warfare, predict the future war form, combat style and military technology development direction, and seize the thinking highland of "winning first and then seeking war"; Bravely transcend ideas, break through traditional thinking habits and stereotypes, establish systematic thinking, data thinking and algorithm thinking, explore new concepts of operations, design new winning mechanisms, and form a new path to enhance combat effectiveness.


The integrity of the system. Military theory is a systematic rational understanding and knowledge system of military issues. The integrity of its system and the systematization of its content are its inherent and inevitable requirements, and it also constitutes one of the main characteristics of the modernization of military theory. For example, Russia pays close attention to the systematicness of military theory, and successively published two editions of Military Theory of the Russian Federation in 2010 and 2014, which constitute a complete military theory system of the Russian army in the 21st century. Over the years, our army has actively constructed a systematic and complete military theory. According to the second edition of China Military Encyclopedia, our army has formed a military theoretical system consisting of 15 knowledge categories, including military thought, political work, military logistics and military equipment. With the progress of science and technology and the development of war practice, the scope of military theory will continue to expand, and the content will be more perfect and systematic.


The innovation of the method. Engels pointed out that the old methods cannot be used to achieve new results in military art. Only by creating new and more powerful means can we achieve new and greater results. Therefore, we should pay attention to relying on the application of new methods and means to greatly improve the efficiency and scientificity of military theoretical research. At the beginning of the 20th century, Lanchester, an Englishman, used the method of mathematical analysis to study combat problems for the first time, which initiated the quantitative analysis of military theory research. In World War II, the military operational research based on weapon effectiveness analysis brought the military theoretical research into the modern scientific level. At present, with the development of emerging technologies, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence will provide more innovative means and methods for military theoretical research. We should pay attention to promoting military theoretical research more scientifically and efficiently with these new methods.


The popularization of the results. Contemporary military theory is full of strong activity and practicality, and it has become the development direction of military theory modernization to apply the latest theoretical achievements to combat operations, equipment construction, military training and college education as soon as possible. The way for foreign troops to reach a consensus is to speed up the generation of combat effectiveness, quickly "materialize" new achievements in military theory into military regulations and planning plans, and promote the transformation and application of achievements at multiple levels and in multiple fields. According to the process of "operational concept-capability requirement-technical support", the military theory will be transformed into equipment documents to plan the future development of weapons and equipment; According to the new requirements of the combat mission and task in the new military theory and the combat capability of the troops, the structure of the combat forces of the troops is adjusted and the system establishment is optimized; Standardize military theory into operational rules and training programs to guide military training and college teaching; Through the combat laboratory, the evolution of new military theory is refined into operational scenarios and operational plans, which are applied to combat operations.


Development trend of modernization of military theory


In the 21st century, with the in-depth development of military reform, countries all over the world attach great importance to the leading role of military theory on the basis of strengthening the role of military technology in promoting the modernization of the army. They have adjusted their military strategies in light of their own development reality and put forward new military ideas and theories, which have continuously injected vitality into the development of military equipment, the establishment system of the army and the training of military personnel, and accelerated the modernization process of military theory, showing new characteristics and trends of the times.


Design war: a new space for the modernization of military theory. The emergence of new technology groups with network technology, combat simulation technology and artificial intelligence technology as the core has produced advanced combat experiment theories and methods, opened up new ideas and new fields for military theoretical research, provided conditions and possibilities for military theoretical research reform, and designed wars are becoming a reality. Through the combat laboratory, we can not only test the adaptability and operability of the existing military theories, but also verify the rationality and effectiveness of the operational regulations, evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the operational plan, and more importantly, design future wars. With the help of the experimental environment of approximate actual combat, a new operational concept is put forward, and the confrontation is simulated repeatedly, resulting in a virtual battle example, and a new operational theory is deduced and refined. In fact, the effect of these laboratories in war simulation has also been fully confirmed. Looking at several important local wars in the 20th century, all of them were simulated in the laboratory first, and then carried out operations, which realized that "the war started in the laboratory" and showed the new direction of modernization of military theory.


Integration of science and technology: opening up a new mission of military theory modernization. With the development of information warfare practice and the emergence of intelligent warfare, the trend of interaction and integration between military theory and science and technology is becoming more and more obvious. First of all, the development of military theory leads the way and provides power for military technology. New operational concepts and theories of western military powers emerge one after another, which breeds a series of new military demands and stimulates new functions and indicators of military technology development. Secondly, the innovation and breakthrough of military technology gave birth to new operational theories. Nuclear technology produces the theory of nuclear shock and awe, guidance technology produces the theory of precision strike, and information technology produces the theory of information warfare. At present, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies are developing rapidly, and intelligent wars are coming to us. Thirdly, the penetration, intersection and synthesis of military theory and military technology are deepening day by day. In the process of the development of military theory and technology to detailed professional classification, the integration of military theory and other sciences is further highlighted, and a huge and systematic military science system is constructed.


Combining research with war: consolidating the foundation of modernization of military theory. Only when military theory is rooted in the fertile soil of military practice can it fully stimulate vitality and maintain vigorous vitality. On the one hand, we attach importance to the test of military theory in actual combat. After the baptism of the Syrian-Israeli Bekaa Valley War, the British Amama War and the Gulf War, the theory of electronic warfare has evolved into a brand-new information warfare theory. On the other hand, strengthen military theory to be tested in experiments. In the process of the formation of the "Rapid Decisive Combat Theory" of the US military, the concept of "Future Joint Combat Concept" was first formulated by the Joint Forces Command, and then three versions of the "Rapid Decisive Combat Concept" document were formed by the simulation experiment of the future joint laboratory, which was successfully applied to the Iraq war.


Open communication: opening the international vision of modernization of military theory. Modern military activities have increasingly crossed national boundaries, and military diplomacy has become more and more frequent. On the one hand, the development of military theory requires not only strengthening the exchanges between services and arms, but also facing the society, actively opening to the society, deepening the exchanges between the military and the land, and absorbing and making full use of the achievements in social science, natural science and engineering technology in time. The foreign military attaches great importance to the support and training of non-governmental advisory bodies, and many major military theoretical studies have been undertaken by them, which has brought about important military benefits. On the other hand, the development of military theory should face the world, learn from others’ strengths and make up for their own shortcomings, which has become the consensus of all countries to strengthen the modernization of military theory. Through international military art conference, international military exercises, joint peacekeeping operations, military visits and other activities, we can directly or indirectly grasp the theoretical direction of foreign troops, improve the starting point of theoretical research, and promote the development of military theory to the world and the future.


(Author: Naval Research Institute)

Actively, safely and orderly develop nuclear power

    The Party’s Report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed to develop nuclear power actively, safely and orderly. The 14th Five-Year Plan for Modern Energy System proposes to actively and orderly promote the construction of coastal nuclear power projects and rationally arrange new coastal nuclear power projects on the premise of ensuring safety. By 2025, the installed capacity of nuclear power operation will reach about 70 million kilowatts. In this issue, several experts are invited to discuss related issues.

   Rank among the world’s nuclear power countries

    What is the situation and development prospect of nuclear power construction in China?

    Du Zhongming (Party Secretary and President of the General Electric Power Planning and Design Institute): As a clean energy, nuclear power is one of the main sources of electricity in China, which plays an important role in optimizing China’s energy structure, ensuring energy security, building a new energy system and helping to achieve the goal of "double carbon".

    Nuclear power refers to the use of heat energy released by uranium nuclear fission to generate electricity, which has the characteristics of high energy density, high single-machine power, high land utilization rate, no influence from seasons and climate, stable and relatively low power generation cost, and can run stably and efficiently for a long time. Compared with other power generation methods, the annual power generation utilization hours of nuclear power units remain above 7,000 hours all the year round, ranking first among all power sources, and no sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, soot and carbon dioxide are emitted in the production process. The carbon dioxide emission equivalent of nuclear power in the whole life cycle is only about 12.2 g/kWh, which is basically the same as that of hydropower and lower than that of wind power and photovoltaic. Safety is the premise of the development of nuclear power industry. The existing three generations of nuclear power mainly improve the safety of nuclear power plants by improving the safety system, and have actually eliminated the possibility of releasing a large number of radioactive materials from the design.

    Since Qinshan nuclear power started construction in 1985, after nearly 40 years of development, China has become one of the world’s nuclear power countries. Up to now, there are more than 50 commercial nuclear power units in China, mainly concentrated in the coastal provinces of Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, with a total installed capacity of over 56 million kilowatts, ranking third in the world, second only to the United States and France. There are more than 20 nuclear power units under construction, and the installed capacity of the units under construction has remained the first in the world for more than ten years. "Hualong No.1" units have been put into operation one after another, which indicates that China has achieved a comprehensive leap from the second generation to the independent third generation of nuclear power technology. The demonstration project of Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, the world’s first pebble bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, was connected to the grid for the first time, marking that China has become one of the few countries in the world to master the fourth-generation nuclear energy technology.

    China’s nuclear power engineering construction team is constantly developing, and it has the engineering construction ability to build more than 40 nuclear power units at the same time, which can meet the challenge of simultaneous construction of multiple projects, multiple bases and several reactor types. The average construction period of nuclear power is 73 months (including the first batch of projects such as AP1000 and EPR), which is 85 months lower than the global average. "Hualong No.1", the world’s first reactor of Fujian Fuqing Nuclear Power Unit 5, took about 68 months from construction to commercial operation, and completed the construction target as scheduled, becoming the world’s first third-generation nuclear power reactor put into production on schedule. In addition, China has achieved independent research and development and localization of key nuclear safety equipment and materials, and the comprehensive localization rate of independent third-generation nuclear power has reached over 90%, forming an annual supply capacity of 8-10 sets of million kilowatt nuclear power main equipment. The demonstration projects of "Guohe-1", fast reactor and small reactor are progressing in an orderly manner on schedule, and new progress has been made in the research and development of advanced reactor systems such as thorium-based molten salt reactor, lead-based fast reactor and fusion reactor, and they are at the forefront of the world.

    China attaches great importance to nuclear safety and has established a strict nuclear safety supervision system, and the overall level of nuclear power safety in operation ranks among the advanced in the world. In recent years, in the comprehensive ranking of similar units of the World Nuclear Power Operators Association, more than 80% of the indicators are better than the world median level, and more than 70% of the indicators have reached the world advanced value. At the same time, a relatively complete and independent nuclear fuel cycle industrial chain has been established, and the nuclear fuel supply and back-end processing capabilities have been continuously enhanced, forming a uranium resource guarantee system that strengthens the exploration and development of domestic uranium resources, strengthens the development of natural uranium overseas, improves the reserve capacity of natural uranium products and resources, and broadens the international trade in uranium resources, thus meeting the needs of medium and long-term nuclear power development.

    Nuclear power will play a greater role in power supply and become an important supporting power source for the safe and stable operation of new power systems. The electricity consumption of the whole society will maintain steady growth for a long time, and it is expected to exceed 12.5 trillion kWh in 2030, with an average annual growth rate of about 4.2%; The proportion of electricity consumption in terminal energy will continue to increase, reaching about 35% in 2030. Based on the balance analysis of power and electricity demand, China’s nuclear power needs to maintain a certain construction speed and scale in the future, and actively and orderly promote the construction of coastal nuclear power projects on the premise of ensuring safety.

    The third generation nuclear power will be the main commercial nuclear power technology in the future. The third-generation nuclear power technology is mature. At present, all new nuclear power units in China adopt the third-generation and above nuclear power technology, and it is expected that the third-generation nuclear power technology will still be the main nuclear power technology in the future. In addition, the design life of the third generation nuclear power is 60 years. With effective and good life management, it is very likely that the life will be extended for another 10 to 20 years and become the mainstream application technology in the future.

    Non-electric utilization of nuclear energy blooms at many points. Demonstration projects such as Shandong Haiyang nuclear energy heating, Liaoning Hongyanhe nuclear energy heating and Zhejiang Haiyan nuclear energy industrial heating have been completed and put into use to solve the urgent need of "burning coal" for central heating. At present, the first industrial nuclear steam supply project in China has started construction in Tianwan Nuclear Power Base. The 14th Five-Year Plan and the outline of the long-term goal in 2035 put forward that coastal nuclear power construction should be promoted safely and steadily. Considering that the coastal area is in the load center of China, the coastal site can support the development scale of China’s medium and long-term nuclear power. The site of nuclear power plant is a very scarce strategic resource, which has strict requirements and restrictions on many factors such as seismic geology, hydrometeorology, etc. The development of nuclear power plant site has the characteristics of long duration, many links, wide coverage, high cost and great difficulty, which is the key to realize the safe and sustainable development of nuclear power. In the future, it is urgent to sort out the existing nuclear power site resources in China, explore a new mode of site protection, comprehensively consider and balance the interests of all parties, and achieve harmonious and win-win development.

   Build a complete nuclear power industry chain

    China has a complete nuclear industry system. How effective is the construction of nuclear power industry chain at present?

    Bai Yunsheng (President of China Nuclear Strategic Planning Research Institute): Nuclear power has the characteristics of "nuclear" and "electricity". It is characterized by knowledge-intensive, capital-intensive and talent-intensive high-tech industries, involving dozens of industries in the upstream and downstream, with high industrial relevance, long industrial chain and strong driving force. With the continuous development of nuclear energy in China, all aspects of the nuclear power industry chain have been gradually established and continuously improved, and a nuclear power industry chain covering nuclear power R&D design, nuclear power construction, natural uranium production, nuclear fuel processing, equipment manufacturing, nuclear power operation, nuclear power decommissioning, spent fuel and nuclear waste management has been formed.

    In terms of nuclear power R&D and design, the innovation ability has been continuously enhanced, and independent brands have been gradually established. China’s nuclear power R&D design has gone through the process from technical support to introduction, digestion and absorption, independent design and the formation of independent brands, and gradually realized the "four-level jump" in R&D design of million kilowatt pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants. At present, we have two independent third-generation nuclear power technologies, namely "Hualong No.1" and "Guohe No.1", and have mastered the R&D and design technology of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Domestic nuclear power groups are actively promoting the R&D, design and demonstration application of small pressurized water reactors, and the R&D and demonstration projects of advanced nuclear energy systems such as sodium-cooled fast reactors, lead-based fast reactors and thorium-based molten salt reactor are stepping up.

    In terms of natural uranium production, the ability to develop and supply uranium resources has been further consolidated. China’s natural uranium production has developed continuously from scratch, forming a whole industrial chain covering geological exploration, mining, smelting and processing, and forming a certain scale of natural uranium production capacity. An exploration system combining space remote sensing, ground exploration, underground physics and hydrology has been established, forming a productivity pattern with sandstone in the north as the main part and hard rock in the south as the supplement. At present, the Yili base in Xinjiang is operating efficiently and stably, the construction of Tongliao and Erdos thousand-ton bases in Inner Mongolia is accelerated, and overseas uranium resource bases such as Luoxin Uranium Mine of China National Nuclear Corporation and Hushan Uranium Mine of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation are operating efficiently.

    In nuclear fuel processing, industrial capacity has gradually entered the forefront of the world. China has built two uranium purification and conversion production bases in the north and south, and the development of a new generation of uranium enrichment centrifuges is progressing smoothly, and the separation function and technical and economic indicators of a single machine are further improved, and the processing and supply capacity of nuclear fuel components covering multiple types and types in China has been built. At present, the production capacity of nuclear fuel elements of PWR is 1,400 tons uranium/year, and that of heavy water reactor is 200 tons uranium/year. The production capacity of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor elements has formed a certain scale, which has the comprehensive strength to rapidly expand the production scale.

    In terms of nuclear power construction, the autonomous ability and general contracting ability of nuclear power engineering construction management have been continuously improved. China has fully mastered the construction capacity of international nuclear power mainstream and research reactor types covering the world’s first AP1000 unit, heavy water reactor, pressurized water reactor, fourth-generation nuclear power sodium-cooled fast reactor and high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, and has built a new model of high-quality refined management.

    In terms of equipment manufacturing, the layout of nuclear power equipment industry has been basically completed, and the core links are self-controllable. At present, China has formed three major nuclear power equipment manufacturing bases in Northeast China, Shanghai and Sichuan, and has developed and expanded a number of nuclear power equipment and parts manufacturing enterprises. The nuclear power products and systems independently developed by equipment enterprises have been successfully applied to nuclear power projects such as "Hualong No.1", "Guohe No.1" and "Linglong No.1" and demonstration fast reactor, forming a relatively complete industrial chain and having industrialized and batch production capacity.

    In terms of nuclear power operation, the installed capacity of commercial nuclear power units continues to grow, and its operating performance is leading the world. According to the statistics of performance indicators in 2022 released by the World Association of Nuclear Power Operators, among the 51 nuclear power plants in China that meet the calculation conditions of the comprehensive index of the association, 37 units have reached a full score of 100, accounting for 50% of the world’s full score units (74 units). The full score ratio and average value of the comprehensive index are higher than those of major nuclear power countries such as the United States, Russia, France and South Korea, and are better than the average level of global units.

    In terms of nuclear power decommissioning, China has the ability to provide complete decommissioning technical solutions. With the help of decommissioning experience of large-scale nuclear facilities, the decommissioning technology of nuclear facilities can be basically mastered, which can provide an overall solution from source investigation, decontamination, demolition, treatment, preparation, transportation and final disposal, and can lay a foundation for the implementation of nuclear power decommissioning in the future.

    In the management of spent fuel and nuclear waste, the capacity of the management system has been further strengthened. A spent fuel transportation system including rail, sea and highway intermodal transportation was built, and it was officially put into operation, completing two batches of spent fuel transportation tasks. Dry-wet intermediate storage capacity of spent fuel was formed, and dry storage facilities of spent fuel in Daya Bay, Qinshan and Tianwan nuclear power stations were officially put into operation. The construction of special post-treatment scientific research projects and demonstration projects has been steadily advanced. The first phase of Longhe National Centralized Disposal Site has been completed and put into operation. The construction of Guangdong Yangjiang Low-level Solid Waste Disposal Site and the preliminary work of Guangxi Fangchenggang, Liaoning Xudabao and Shandong Haiyang Disposal Site have been promoted in an orderly manner. The pattern of combining radioactive waste concentration with regional disposal is taking shape.

    On the whole, the continuous expansion of the scale of the nuclear power industry will continue to drive the upstream and downstream industries to achieve high-quality development, and the level of independent control of the industrial chain will be further improved. It is estimated that before 2030, the installed capacity of nuclear power in operation in China is expected to become the first in the world and occupy a more important position in the world nuclear power industry structure.

   Multi-application scenarios provide low-carbon and high-efficiency energy

    Besides power generation, what other application scenarios are there for nuclear power plants in China?

    Liu Shichang (Associate Professor, School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University): China’s nuclear power plants are mainly distributed in the southeast coastal areas such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong. The main purpose of nuclear power plants is to generate electricity, generate heat energy through nuclear reactors, drive turbine generators to generate electricity, and provide electricity for surrounding areas. While providing clean electricity, nuclear power plants have other application scenarios to provide low-carbon and efficient energy security for production and life.

    One is industrial heating and steam supply. Industry accounts for about 70% of China’s total energy consumption, and it is a key industry of carbon emission. The industrial heating efficiency of nuclear power plant is high, and it will not produce a lot of waste gas and pollutants, which can provide stable heating and steam supply services for surrounding industrial zones and improve the economic benefits of enterprises. China mainly provides industrial steam through pressurized water reactors. For example, the nuclear energy industrial heating project jointly built by Qinshan Nuclear Power of China National Nuclear Corporation and Haiyan County of Zhejiang Province was officially completed and put into use in December 2022, which is the first nuclear energy industrial heating project in China. Tianwan Nuclear Power of CNNC also started the nuclear steam supply project. High temperature gas-cooled reactor has the advantage of high core outlet temperature, and it is also the main path for industrial steam supply, especially high quality steam supply in the future. In 2021, the demonstration project of Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant was connected to the grid for the first time, which became an important carrier for China to explore high-temperature reactors to provide industrial steam and carry out hydrogen production. Modular small reactors, such as Hemei No.1 of China Power Investment Corporation, NHR200-II low-temperature heating reactor jointly developed by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group and Tsinghua University, and Yanlong swimming pool low-temperature heating reactor of China National Nuclear Power Group, can also provide clean steam and provide decarbonization schemes for high energy-consuming industries.

    The second is clean heating. About one third of our country needs winter heating, and the heating period lasts for four to six months. Hundreds of large and medium-sized cities in Northeast China, North China and Northwest China need hundreds of thousands of megawatts of heating power every year, and consume billions of tons of coal every year, accounting for more than 15% of total energy consumption. Nuclear reaction in nuclear power plants will generate a lot of heat energy, which can be converted into steam or hot water and transported to the urban heating system through pipelines. This way is cleaner, more efficient and more reliable than traditional heating methods such as thermal power plants and coal-fired boilers. Both large and small pile heating technologies have broad application prospects in the field of low-carbon heating.

    In terms of piles, Zhejiang Haiyan Nuclear Energy Industrial Heating Demonstration Project, the first nuclear energy heating project in southern China, was officially put into operation in December, 2021. Using the surplus thermal power of Qinshan nuclear power base units in winter, large-scale safe, zero-carbon and economical nuclear energy heating was provided to public facilities, residential quarters and industrial parks in Haiyan County without affecting the original power generation and safety performance of the units, which truly achieved a win-win situation for local residents, local governments, nuclear power enterprises and ecological protection. It is estimated that after the completion of the project, the burning of standard coal will be reduced by 24,600 tons per year, and the emission reduction will be 1,817 tons of sulfur dioxide, 908 tons of nitrogen oxides and 59,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

    As for small reactors, the Yanlong swimming pool type low-temperature heating reactor independently developed by CNNC is a reactor model specially used for heating residents in winter in northern China. It has the advantages of high inherent safety, good adaptability of heating network, flexible site selection, etc. A 400,000-kilowatt swimming pool reactor can heat more than 300,000 people, replace 320,000 tons of coal or 160 million cubic meters of gas every year, and reduce the emission of smoke and dust by 5,000 tons, ash by 50,000 tons and carbon dioxide by 640%.

    The third is desalination. Desalination refers to the removal of salt from seawater, making it into fresh water that can be drunk or used for irrigation, providing fresh water resources for surrounding areas and solving the problem of water shortage, especially suitable for coastal areas. At present, there are three commonly used seawater desalination technologies, namely, multi-stage flash distillation, low-temperature multi-effect distillation and reverse osmosis. Because nuclear power plants can provide both electric energy and steam, the above three technologies can be coupled with nuclear power plants. On the one hand, by using the existing nuclear power plants in operation, supporting the construction of seawater desalination facilities to operate in cogeneration mode. For example, Shandong Haiyang Nuclear Power put into operation the scientific and technological demonstration project of "simultaneous production and delivery of water and heat", which directly turned seawater into high-temperature and high-quality fresh water at 95 degrees Celsius; Tianwan Nuclear Power of CNNC provides electricity and industrial steam, and at the same time, it is also promoting seawater desalination project. Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant has realized seawater desalination by using the waste heat of nuclear power plant to provide cooling water for nuclear power units, with a capacity of 10,080 cubic meters per day. On the other hand, multi-purpose advanced nuclear energy systems suitable for seawater desalination and other fields can be developed and built. Advanced nuclear energy system has a broad prospect in the field of seawater desalination because of its comprehensive advantages such as small size, strong flexibility, large power ratio, good adaptability and wide application fields. China has been following the world’s leading edge in developing multi-purpose advanced nuclear energy systems. At present, it has successfully developed "Yanlong" and "Linglong No.1", which are suitable for seawater desalination, heating and other fields.

    The fourth is hydrogen production by nuclear energy. Nuclear energy can be used to produce hydrogen on a large scale, and it has the advantages of no greenhouse gas, high efficiency and large scale with water as raw material, and is an important solution for large-scale hydrogen supply in the future. High-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is the fourth generation advanced nuclear energy technology with independent intellectual property rights in China, which has the advantages of good safety and high core outlet temperature. Its characteristics of high temperature and high pressure match the thermochemical cycle hydrogen production technology suitable for large-scale hydrogen production, and it is considered to be the most suitable reactor type and the most promising nuclear hydrogen production technology route in the future. In December 2021, the world’s first pebble bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant was connected to the grid for power generation. After the demonstration project is put into operation, it will further March from a single "electricity" to five sub-target markets of "hydrogen, steam, water, heat and electricity", and its temperature parameters also cover most of the heat source requirements in the fields of ethanol purification, salt chemical industry, petrochemical industry, coal chemical industry and hydrogen production, which will be the "double carbon" target.

   Ensure safety is that premise of nuclear power development.

    Nuclear safety is the lifeline of nuclear power development. What should China pay attention to in the safe and orderly development of nuclear power in the future?

    Zhao Chengkun (Executive Deputy Director of Expert Committee of China Nuclear Energy Industry Association and former Director of National Nuclear Safety Administration): By the end of 2022, there were 422 units in operation worldwide, with a total installed capacity of over 378 million kilowatts, distributed in 32 countries or regions around the world. There are 57 nuclear power units under construction in the world, distributed in 18 countries and regions, with a total installed capacity of 59.58 million kilowatts.

    Among the major nuclear power countries in the world, the United States has 92 operational reactors with a total installed capacity of 94.718 million kilowatts, and nuclear power generation accounts for about 20%. There are 56 operational nuclear reactors in France, which are distributed along the coast and inland, and nuclear power generation accounts for about 70%. There are 37 operational reactors in Russia, most of which are located in the western region, and nuclear power generation accounts for about 20%. After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, Japan shut down all reactors. In recent years, due to the shortage of energy supply and other factors, more than 10 reactors have been restarted with the approval of the regulatory authorities, and many other reactors are being restarted for approval.

    After more than 70 years of development, the United States has established perfect laws and regulations in the field of nuclear energy, formed a complete nuclear industry system and a strong nuclear science and technology research and development capability. However, after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, a large number of uranium mines in the United States were closed, the production capacity was gradually shrinking, and the uranium conversion and nuclear power construction capacity were significantly reduced. In recent years, the United States has resumed its emphasis on the development of nuclear energy. The report "Rebuilding the Competitive Advantage of Nuclear Energy in the United States" lists promoting the development of the front-end industries of the nuclear fuel cycle as the primary task, implementing domestic uranium reserves, expanding the supply of nuclear fuel, attaching importance to the research and development of micro-reactors, and promoting the accelerated development of comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy.

    In 2022, France issued the "2030 Investment Plan", which includes the demonstration of small modular reactor technology and the large-scale hydrogen production plan of nuclear power by 2030. Russia has sound laws and regulations in the nuclear field and clear development policies. The Russian nuclear industry system, represented by the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation, provides nuclear power life-cycle services from uranium resource development to nuclear waste disposal. In recent years, it has launched several overseas market projects in Eastern Europe, East Asia and Middle East countries, and promoted the development of nuclear reactors in different application scenarios. In 2021, the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency resumed the operation of the small high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, and in 2022, it announced with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that a demonstration hydrogen production project would be established on this basis. At the same time, Japan attaches great importance to the development of small modular reactors. Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Fast Reactor Systems are cooperating with American Tara Energy Company to develop sodium-cooled fast reactors.

    From the perspective of international nuclear power development, the occurrence of nuclear accidents has made countries more deeply aware of the importance of nuclear safety. Nowadays, the world’s major nuclear power countries are actively developing the fourth generation nuclear power technology to further improve the safety and economy of nuclear power. At present, the layout of nuclear power in China is unbalanced, all the nuclear power units in operation and under construction are distributed in coastal areas, and the site of nuclear power is scarce, and the proportion of nuclear power generation in the total power generation is lower than the current world average of 10%, which is still far from the developed countries.

    Under the goal of "double carbon", with the development of nuclear power scale, the demand for natural uranium and the production of spent fuel and radioactive waste will continue to increase. According to the forecast that the scale of PWR in operation will reach 150 million kilowatts in 2035, the annual demand for natural uranium will reach 30,000 tons, and the annual output of spent fuel will be about 3,000 tons. In addition, a million-kilowatt PWR needs about 10,000 tons of natural uranium for 60 years, and about 1.5 million tons of natural uranium for the whole life cycle of 150 million nuclear power installations. Therefore, it is the key to realize the sustainable development of nuclear power to further improve the support capacity of natural uranium in China.

    China has a relatively complete nuclear industry system, and its basic research capability has been continuously strengthened, and has independently developed three generations of nuclear power technologies, namely, Hualong No.1 and Guohe No.1.. Limited by the overall industrial level and related professional basic ability, there are still some shortcomings and weaknesses in some key equipment and materials of nuclear power in China. In addition, as a key link in the technical development route of "thermal reactor-fast reactor-fusion reactor", fast reactor can greatly improve the utilization rate of uranium resources and reduce high-level radioactive waste, which is of great significance to improve the economy and safety of nuclear power. The world’s nuclear power countries have invested a lot of manpower and material resources in the development of fast reactors, from basic research, facility development to demonstration projects, increasing research and development, and striving to control the commanding heights of technology. China has carried out the demonstration project of sodium-cooled fast reactor, and is studying a more advanced integrated fast reactor nuclear energy system, but there is still a big gap from the commercial scale application. It is necessary to increase research and development in reactor core design, dry reprocessing technology and metal fuel element manufacturing. In addition to sodium-cooled fast reactors, many domestic units have carried out research on lead (bismuth) cold fast reactors, and relevant departments should strengthen guidance to form a joint force to improve research and development efficiency.

    Due to the long development cycle of nuclear energy projects, there are some problems such as the increased protection cost of some nuclear power sites and the difficulty in coordinating the development of sites across administrative regions. The site selection and development and utilization of related supporting nuclear facilities have prominent neighborhood effect, and some projects have been forced to stop construction due to insufficient communication and improper handling. Through effective communication and popular science propaganda, the concerns of stakeholders should be handled well to improve the public’s acceptance of nuclear energy.

    Ensuring safety is the premise of active, orderly and efficient development of nuclear power. China has promulgated the law on the prevention and control of radioactive pollution and the law on nuclear safety, but the laws and regulations related to the nuclear field such as radioactive waste management, nuclear accident compensation and nuclear power management need to be improved as soon as possible. It is necessary to pay attention to various possible risk challenges and implement the principle of "safety first, prevention first, clear responsibility, strict management, defense in depth, independent supervision and safety guarantee". Nuclear power business units should always attach importance to the construction of nuclear safety culture, and regard it as a long-term, systematic and overall important work, and implement the concept and values of nuclear safety culture in all aspects of planning, scientific research, design and operation to ensure the safe and sustainable development of nuclear power in China.