From 65438 to 0993, China's fast reactor research entered the development stage. Because there is little research on fast reactor equipment and system in China at the stage of basic research and applied basic research of fast reactor, we have carried out joint technical design of fast reactor with Russian in accordance with the principle of focusing on China and introducing foreign advanced technology, and then carried out independent preliminary design and construction design. At present, the design has been completed, the main civil works have been completed, more than 300 large-scale equipment have been installed, and various systems are being installed; The fuel has been accepted, the main equipment has arrived, and the localization rate of equipment investment has reached 70%. At the beginning of 2005, nuclear grade sodium will enter the factory and install the reactor body. It is expected that this will be crucial for the first time in 2007.
20 10 On July 22nd, China National Nuclear Corporation announced that China's first fast neutron reactor, China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR), which was independently developed by China Institute of Atomic Energy, had reached its first criticality, which meant a major breakthrough in the fourth generation advanced nuclear energy system technology in China.
The fast reactor technology is complex and the investment in engineering development is large. Under the leadership of the national "863" high-tech plan, we have completed the research on the development strategy and technical route of China fast reactor, and put forward the proposal of three-step development of China fast reactor engineering technology:
The first step, China Experimental Fast Reactor, with thermal power of 65,000 kilowatts and electric power of 20,000 kilowatts, is currently under construction, and it is planned to be connected to the grid critically in 2007-2008.
The second step, China prototype fast reactor, with an electric power of about 600,000 kilowatts, is planned to be completed in 20 13 and put into operation in 2020. At present, it is in the planning proposal stage.
The third step is China commercial verification reactor, with electric power 1 10,000 ~10.5 million kilowatts. It is suggested that 20 18 be completed and run in 2025. On this basis, large-scale high-proliferation fast reactors will be promoted in batches from 2030 to 2035.
The development of fast reactors abroad has been half a century. The United States, Russia, Britain, France, Japan, Germany, Italy, India and South Korea, nine countries developing fast reactors, have built 2/kloc-0 fast reactors.
At present, in order to develop nuclear energy on a large scale in the future, all countries building fast reactors have begun to study the use of radioactive waste generated by burning hot reactors in fast reactors to make nuclear energy a cleaner energy source, and at the same time, some new fast reactors have been pre-researched.
Countries that need to develop nuclear energy on a large scale to replace conventional energy sources must develop fast reactors and corresponding closed fuel cycles in order to make good use of uranium resources. If the thermal reactor has developed to a certain scale, we should consider using the fast reactor first, and then using a more effective accelerator to drive the subcritical fast reactor, so as to burn the long-lived waste as much as possible and minimize the waste that needs to be buried deeply in geology. Because the nuclear reaction in fast neutron value-added reactor will produce plutonium -239, an important raw material of nuclear weapons, there is a great risk of nuclear weapons proliferation.