“双碳”目标背景下，我国核电产业迈入积极安全有序发展新阶段，核能综合利用渐入佳境。两会期间，围绕核能产业的新机遇新挑战、发展节奏、升级优化及数字核电等话题，本报记者专访了全国政协委员，中国核电工程有限公司党委书记、董事长徐鹏飞。
以下为专访实录
中国能源报：“双碳”目标下，包括核能在内的低碳能源迎来机遇，核能在助力降碳方面将发挥什么作用？
徐鹏飞：核电是安全、高效、稳定、可大规模应用的清洁能源，是我国能源向清洁化、低碳化转型的重要选项。以华龙一号为例，单台机组每年清洁发电近100亿度，相当于减少标准煤消耗312万吨，减少二氧化碳排放 816万吨，相当于植树造林7000万棵。
核电运行稳定可靠、换料周期长，是安全高效的基荷能源，适宜承担电网基荷及必要的负荷跟踪，可大规模替代化石能源作为基荷电源。提升核电在能源体系中的比重，有利于保障电网系统的安全性，促进可再生能源高比例消纳。此外，核能在清洁供暖、工业供汽、海水淡化等领域也大有可为。
“双碳”目标对核工业是新的重大机遇，也是核工业加快发展清洁能源、服务国家战略的历史责任。围绕落实“双碳”目标，中核集团明确，2025年力争清洁能源发电量等效减排二氧化碳超过2.5亿吨，2030年力争清洁能源发电量等效减排二氧化碳超过5亿吨。
中国能源报：我国三代核电已开启批量化建设，从持续提升安全性和经济性角度看，核电技术升级优化的着力点是什么？
徐鹏飞：目前核电技术发展仍需在经济性、安全性、环境友好性和运行灵活性四个方面开展进一步探索研究。以经济性为例，中核工程目前正在建设过程中推行“模块化、工厂化、自动化”三化原则。模块化、工厂化就像搭积木，提前在制好大型工程部件，然后在施工现场组装，大幅降低施工难度并缩短建设周期；自动化，即运用人工智能、大数据等数字化手段，实现“少人值守”甚至“无人值守”的智能运维，大大降低人力成本。
当然，四代堆也是目前核能领域的重要方向。相比三代堆，其具有安全性更高、应用场景更广等特性，目前我们正在研发的四代堆能让核能作为移动电源来满足特殊场景的应急需求。
中国能源报：当前我国正积极开展核能供热供汽等实践，未来核能综合利用将面临哪些机遇和挑战？
徐鹏飞：除了发电，未来核能将在区域供热、海水淡化、工业供汽等多用途综合利用领域发力，发挥降碳减排、保障能源安全的重要作用。目前，山东海阳、浙江海盐、辽宁红沿河已实现了部分核能供暖改造，当地居民切实享受到核能清洁供暖的实惠。
除了利用在运核电站供暖，中核集团研发的“燕龙”泳池式低温供热堆专门针对供暖市场，相关前期工作正在进行中，可让更多百姓用上核能供暖。此外，我们目前也在探索不同堆型相互配合进行核能供热的方案，以产出高参数且具有经济性的清洁工业蒸汽，助力石化等高排放行业深度脱碳。
在“双碳”目标下，核电发展规模和节奏有望更大更快，核能多用途利用有望迎来爆发期。如何抓住这一轮产业机遇，实现产业弯道超车，对所有核科技工作者而言都是挑战。
中国能源报：在我国稳步推进能源互联网建设背景下，数字化如何赋能核能产业持续升级？
徐鹏飞：数字化对核电产业的影响是全方面的，近年我们不断推动核电产业数字化和整个产业的持续升级，以核电厂产品数字化和过程数字化为目标，建设少人值守、高度自动化的实体核电厂和过程数字化的虚拟核电厂，并实现二者的数字孪生，推进“华龙一号”不断升级。同时，采用虚拟核电厂模拟核电厂设备制造、土建和安装施工以及调试过程，在提高核电厂安全性的同时降低建造成本；采用虚拟核电厂预测核电厂后续运行、维修模式，提高核电厂的运行安全性和运行经济性。
引入数字化实现了对原有核电厂设计、建造、调试、运行全过程的全方位升级，提高了核电厂的建设效率与经济性，提升了核电厂运行的操作便捷性与安全性。同时，数字化还有利于形成全核电产业数字化集群，我们通过推进5G、北斗、云计算、边缘计算、大数据、人工智能、区块链、物联网等先进信息通信技术应用，正不断加速核电领域核心工业软件国产化进程，打造具有自主知识产权的核电产业互联网平台，助力未来实现更广泛的产业互联互通。
翻译：
Under the background of “double carbon” goal, our nuclear power industry has entered a new stage of positive and safe and orderly development, and the comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy has gradually improved. During the two sessions, around the nuclear energy industry’s new opportunities and challenges, the pace of development, upgrading and optimization and digital nuclear power and other topics, our reporter interviewed the CPPCC National Committee member, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., LTD. Party Secretary, Chairman Xu Pengfei.
The following is a transcript of the interview
China Energy News: Under the “double carbon” goal, low-carbon energy, including nuclear energy, has an opportunity. What role will nuclear energy play in helping to reduce carbon?
Xu Pengfei: Nuclear power is safe, efficient, stable, clean energy that can be applied on a large scale. And an important option of our country’s energy to clean and low-carbon transformation. Taking Hualong One as an example, a single unit generates nearly 10 billion KWH of clean electricity every year, which is equivalent to reducing standard coal consumption by 3.12 million tons, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 8.16 million tons, and afforestation by 70 million trees.
Nuclear power is a safe and efficient baseload energy source with stable and reliable operation and long refueling cycle. It is suitable to bear the baseload of power grid and necessary load tracking. And can replace fossil energy as baseload power source on a large scale. Increasing the proportion of nuclear power in the energy system is conducive to ensuring the safety of the power grid system and promoting a high proportion of renewable energy consumption. In addition, nuclear energy can also be used in clean heating, industrial steam supply, seawater desalination and other fields.
The “two-carbon” goal is a new major opportunity for the nuclear industry. And also a historical responsibility for the nuclear industry to accelerate the development of clean energy and serve the national strategy. Focusing on the implementation of the “two-carbon” goal, China National Nuclear Group has made it clear that the equivalent emission reduction of carbon dioxide from clean energy generation will exceed 250 million tons in 2025 and 500 million tons in 2030.
China Energy News: China’s three generations of nuclear power has started the approval construction. From the perspective of continuous improvement of safety and economy, what is the focus of nuclear power technology upgrading and optimization?
Xu Pengfei:. At present, the development of nuclear power technology still needs to be further explored in four aspects:. Economy, safety, environmental friendliness and operational flexibility. Taking economy as an example, China Nuclear Engineering is currently implementing the three principles of “modularization, factorization and automation” in the process of construction. Modularization and factorization are like building blocks. Large engineering components are prepared in advance and then assembled on the construction site, greatly reducing the difficulty of construction and shortening the construction period. Automation, namely the use of artificial intelligence, big data and other digital means, to achieve “few people on duty” or even “unattended” intelligent operation and maintenance, greatly reducing labor costs.
Of course, the fourth generation reactor is also an important direction in the field of nuclear energy. Compared with the third-generation reactor, it has the characteristics of higher safety and wider application scenarios. At present, the fourth-generation reactor we are developing can make nuclear energy as a mobile power source to meet the emergency needs in special scenarios.
China Energy News: Currently, China is actively carrying out the practice of supplying heating steam with nuclear energy. What opportunities and challenges will the comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy face in the future?
Xu Pengfei: In addition to power generation, in the future, nuclear energy will play an important role in reducing carbon emission and ensuring energy security in the multi-purpose and comprehensive utilization fields. Such as district heating, seawater desalination and industrial steam supply. At present, some of the cities of Haiyang in Shandong Province, Haiyan in Zhejiang Province. And Hongyan in Liaoning Province have realized the transformation of nuclear energy heating. And local residents can actually enjoy the benefits of clean nuclear energy heating.
In addition to the use of nuclear power plants in operation, the “Yanlong” pool type low-temperature heating reactor developed by China National Nuclear Corporation is specifically for the heating market. Related preliminary work is under way, so that more people can use nuclear energy for heating. In addition, we are also exploring the scheme of cooperating with different types of reactors for nuclear heating. So as to produce clean industrial steam with high parameters and economy. Which will help the deep decarbonization of high-emission industries such as petrochemical.
Under the “two-carbon” goal, the scale and pace of nuclear power development is expected to be larger and faster. And the multi-purpose use of nuclear energy is expected to usher in an explosion period. How to seize this round of industrial opportunities and realize industrial curve overtaking is a challenge for all nuclear scientists.
China Energy News: Under the background of China’s steady promotion of energy Internet construction, how does digitalization enable the continuous upgrading of nuclear energy industry?
Xu Pengfei: The impact of digitalization on the nuclear power industry is comprehensive. In recent years. We have been promoting the digitalization of the nuclear power industry and the continuous upgrading of the whole industry. With the goal of digitization of nuclear power plant products and process. We have built a physical nuclear power plant with few people on duty and high automation and a virtual nuclear power plant with digitized process. And realized the digital twin of the two, so as to promote the continuous upgrading of Hualong One.
At the same time, the virtual nuclear power plant is used to simulate the manufacturing. Civil construction, installation and commissioning process of nuclear power plant equipment. So as to improve the safety of nuclear power plant and reduce the construction cost. The model of virtual nuclear power plant prediction for subsequent operation and maintenance of nuclear power plant is adopted to improve the safety and economy of nuclear power plant operation.
The introduction of digitalization has realized the comprehensive upgrading of the whole process of design, construction, commissioning and operation of the original nuclear power plant, improved the construction efficiency and economy of the nuclear power plant, and enhanced the operation convenience and safety of the nuclear power plant operation. At the same time, digitization is also conducive to the formation of digital clusters in the entire nuclear power industry. By promoting the application of advanced information and communication technologies such as 5G, Beidou, cloud computing, edge computing, big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain and the Internet of Things, we are accelerating the process of localization of core industrial software in the nuclear power sector and building an Internet platform for the nuclear power industry with independent intellectual property rights. It will help achieve greater industrial connectivity in the future.
