Nuclear- the Clean, Green, and Reliable Energy - Key takeaways from ICONE 25 in Shanghai

The 25th International Conference of Nuclear Engineering (ICONE) took place earlier this week in Shanghai, in the hub of China’s nuclear industry where the 5th Asia Nuclear Business Platform was also held 2 months ago. I had the privilege of being invited by Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute(SNERDI) to attend this industry gathering.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the event.

Update of Nuclear Technology from China

In the past few years, China has successfully upgraded its nuclear reactor design from the second generation to third, together with the enlargement of localization of the supply chain.

In Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant, the world’s first AP1000 has closed the cold-test and is ready for operations within this year. Furthermore the localized and enlarged AP1000, CAP1400 which is independently designed by China has also accomplished all its preparation for the construction.

For the Small Module Reactor (SMR) development, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has finished the design of ACP100 and received approval from IAEA.

Another important program that China is involved is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which is a global fusion reactor project. 18 equipment of ITER will be taken by China, and the first plasma is planned to be ready in 2025.

(China participating ITER)

Update of the Nuclear Energy Situation in Japan

In the post-Fukushima era, although the Japanese government intends to reduce the reliance on nuclear energy, the nuclear industry is still indispensable to Japan. There are 5 reactors in Japan which were restarted after the accident in Fukushima, the remaining reactors are also ready for reloading. Another important sector of the nuclear industry in Japan is the nuclear decommissioning, there are 15 reactor units waiting for decommissioning over the next 30 years. 

Besides, Japan is also active at developing the new generation nuclear technology. Japan and France are now working together on the R&D of Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industry Demonstration (ASTRID), which is a sodium salt-cooled fast breeder reactor (GEN IV).

Update on Nuclear Fuel Technology

As the essential element of the nuclear reaction and the first layer protection of the nuclear reactor, the nuclear fuel technology is one of the most important element to the nuclear industry development. 

The recent achievements on the nuclear fuel including EnCore of Westinghouse which is an Accident Tolerant Fuel featured with extremely high melting point and minimal reaction with water, GAIA of Areva which is a fuel component in a high-stability zirconium alloy material.

Update on Intelligent Technology Application in Nuclear Power Plant

The intelligent technology today has made a lot of revolutionary progress in the traditional industry’s development. Although nuclear industry is always seen as a relevantly conservative industry, there are lots of combination between the intelligent technology and nuclear technology.

The first is the Intelligent Induction System. The Intelligent Induction System can assist the NPP operator to analyze the current situation in the reactor and help the operator to make current decision. Another application is the digital simulation system.

 (NuPAC NPP safety control system)

There were lots of interesting updates about the nuclear research and technology discussed during ICONE, if you would like to discuss more, please email me at [email protected]