Article | Reporter Yang Xiaoran from China Energy Daily

Recently, a reporter from China Energy News learned at the International Atomic Energy Agency's Cross regional Seminar on the Development and Application of Small Modular Reactor Technology that due to its safer, more flexible, more diverse, and closer to users characteristics, small reactors have become a recognized new track for future nuclear energy applications, and multiple countries have begun to deploy related projects.

In recent years, China has achieved fruitful results in the research and development of small reactors, and has high-quality promoted the development of multiple small module reactor technologies and industries. The industrial coupling scheme is becoming increasingly mature, contributing to the development of small module reactors with "Chinese wisdom" and "Chinese solutions".

The development of small piles is in the ascendant during the transformation period

Experts attending the meeting pointed out that small modular reactors will play an important role in promoting global energy transformation and addressing climate change.

At present, the global challenge of climate change is severe, and energy security risks are intensifying. More and more countries are using nuclear energy as an important option to address climate change, achieve low-carbon energy transformation, and reduce emissions. Liu Jing, Deputy Director of the National Atomic Energy Agency, pointed out that small modular reactors have received high attention from many countries due to their advantages such as low initial investment, short construction period, high safety, good flexibility, and diverse applications, It is becoming one of the key directions for the new round of nuclear energy technology transformation and industrial development.

In recent years, except for China, countries such as the United States, Russia, Argentina, South Korea, and France have actively deployed the construction of small reactors. The report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2022 shows that over 80 small reactor technologies are being developed globally. China Energy News reporter learned from the seminar that currently, small reactors mainly developed internationally include light water reactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, molten salt reactors, etc. They are widely used in various fields such as zero carbon power generation, seawater purification, ship transportation, hydrogen production, and heating.

Small reactors around the world have already developed from the "paper talk" stage to the implementation stage: such as the South Korean offshore SMR BANDI project, the Danish compact molten salt reactor power barge project, the French MUWARD small reactor project, the Argentine CAREM project, as well as China's "Linglong 1" and Yanlong low-temperature heating reactors.

In addition to these major nuclear power developing countries, Dohee Hahn, coordinator of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) SMR platform, said that currently, there are 27 countries in the world joining the ranks of small reactors, including 10 countries that have deployed infrastructure or signed relevant project contracts, such as Egypt, Poland, Türkiye, and 17 countries that are considering whether to use nuclear power.

China has achieved fruitful results in exploring small reactors

In the scorching heat of the sun, workers are busy with construction at the Changjiang Nuclear Power Base in Hainan. Machines are operating with a roar, and the reactor of the "Linglong 1" unit, which has just been lifted, has risen from the ground. It is understood that "Linglong 1" is the world's first small modular pressurized water reactor that has passed the International Atomic Energy Agency's general safety review. The most prominent technical feature is integrated design and modular construction.

Song Danrong, Chief Designer of the Small Modular Reactor at China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute, introduced that under the "integrated" design, a large amount of installation work was required on site in the past, but can now be completed in the factory. In this way, not only has the quality of nuclear power equipment been further improved.