In order to promote energy technology revolution, the Chinese Academy of Engineering launched a major consultation project in 2015, Strategic Research on China Energy Technology Revolution System. This paper states a development strategy through consultation and investigation in nine key energy areas, including nuclear energy, wind energy, solar energy, energy storage, oil and gas, coal, water energy, biomass energy, and integration of the smart grid and the energy network. Based on the system analysis of China’s current situation of energy technologies, this paper proposes an energy technology system in which renewable energies are the main part, electric energy is the main part of the end-use energy, and multiple energies and grids integrate and complement with each other, develops an energy technology route including three stages for development of forward-looking technologies (2020), innovative technologies (2030) and disruptive technologies (2050), and finally puts forward the strategy proposal to promote energy technology revolution, which provides scientific support for making plans and policies about energy in China.
Energy technology revolution is the foundation for boosting energy consumption revolution, supply revolution, institutional revolution and strengthening international cooperation. The energy technology revolution is the support of a modern energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient. It is an important part of building an innovation-oriented country. This paper states the energy situation and challenges in China, studies future energy structures in three time nodes including 2020, 2030 and 2050, and summarizes the common trend of the technology development to realize the collaboration of multi-field energy technologies. Also, the development direction of energy technology is proposed to realize the leapfrog development, and to build an energy technology innovation system with Chinese characteristics.
According to the development level of nuclear energy technologies, this project is divided into three subjects, i.e., thermal neutron reactors, fast neutron reactors and generation IV reactors, and controlled nuclear fusion science and technology. Subject investigation, cross discussion and systematic integration methods are used in different stages of the research. This paper consists of the current status, safety, technological direction, and development roadmap of China’s nuclear energy. It is suggested that China should take the following measures. First, China should promote its independent advanced pressurized water reactor to enlarge the nuclear energy scale in a safe and efficient way in the short run. Second, China should accelerate the research and development of generation IV nuclear energy systems to deal with the problems of nuclear fuel breeding and transmutation of transuranics and long life fission products, and develope small modular reactors actively to expand the application range of nuclear energy in the mid run. Third, China should keep exploring the fusion energy in the long run. It is expected that there will be 1.5×108 kW of nuclear reactors in operation and another 5×107 kW in construction in 2030 and there will be a harmonious development of pressurized water reactors and fast neutronreactors in 2050. The development of China’s nuclear energy is also facing some challenges, such as the insufficient capacity of the front part and post part of the nuclear industry chain, the divergence in research and development power of the core technology, and more competition than cooperation among state owned companies. It is hoped that the China should construct a State Nuclear Energy Lab through integration of existing resources so as to concentrate the strength to promote the development of nuclear energy industry in a healthy and rapid way.
Controlled nuclear fusion energy will be an ideal clean energy in the future. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project is the focus of research conducted by the international magnetic confinement fusion field. Frontier issues in scientific and engineering targets of the ITER project are introduced in this paper. Short-term, mid-term and long-term technical goals of magnetic confinement fusion research in China are proposed, and a roadmap of magnetic confinement fusion research in China is drafted. In the field of inertial confinement fusion (ICF), Z-pinch has potentials to be a future energy source. Remarkable progresses have been made from experiments of Sandia laboratory’s Z/ZR machine. In China, a large number of basic researches have been carried out on the physics of Z-pinch radiation source, the driving ICF technology, and especially the energy coupling physics of the driver and the Z-pinch load. It is suggested that China should continue pushing international collaboration on the ITER project, study advanced science and technology on nuclear fusion reactors, actively promote R&D of key components of the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), and start the CFETR construction at the right time. It is also suggested that China should support the construction of a new-generation high-current pulse power test platform, so as to promote Z-pinch fusion ignition and explore a Z-pinch driven fusion and fission hybrid reactor.
Nuclear energy is one of the important energy that can optimize the energy structure and reduce carbon emissions. For the near term, the development of nuclear energy in China will still be dominated by pressured water reactors (PWRs), but long-term utilization of PWRs will result in the problems of uranium resources shortage and radioactive waste disposal. According to studies, the closed fuel cycle based on the fast reactor can effectively breed the nuclear fuel through multiple cycles, and meanwhile burn Minor Actinides (MA) produced in over six PWRs with the same capacity. According to the three-stage strategy of “experimental reactor–demonstration reactor–commercial reactor” of the fast reactor in China, as well as the situation that nuclear power development started late in China, a road map is suggested for the development of the fast reactor in China, in which the main mission for the fast reactor is to breed nuclear fuels till 2050, and to burn MA after 2050.
Until 2017, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power in China had ranked first in the world for continuous 8 years. In the futher, China’s wind power will still maintain a high growth rate. Under such circumstances, it is urgent for us to get a clear understanding of the impacts of wind power development on ecological and climatic environment so as to ensure the sustainable development of wind power. It is very necessary to set up a national major research program on basic sciences to conduct researches on ecological and climatic effects of wind power development. It is suggested that a development planning and distribution of wind power in China in 2050 should be proposed through observation experiments, mechanism analysis, numerical simulation, effect assessment, and adaptation and mitigation measure study; an assessment method and an indicator system of impacts of wind power development on the ecological and climatic environment should be studied and established; an ecological and climatic environment monitoring network should be built in national wind power development regions and effectively connected with all wind farms of China, so as to regularly evaluate overall and local effects of ecological and climatic environment by using big data and artificial intelligence technology.
Power produced through wind power technology is an important form of renewable energy, and also the focus of China’s current efforts to strengthen the global competitiveness of its strategic emerging industries. Technology development in wind power equipment would insure the industry’s bloom for a long time and a high application ratio of wind power. In this paper, a detailed analysis of the wind turbine technology at both domestic and international levels is conducted to learn about the history and current state of the wind turbine technology, and problems faced by domestic and international markets. Furthermore, some suggestions and prospects are also presented for the healthy development of the wind turbine technology, in fields of structure efficiency promotion, production cost reduction, environment protection, and resource conservation.
The development of wind power in China has obtained remarkable achievements in the past several years. Now the installation scale and generation capacity of wind power in China are just smaller than that of coal power and hydropower. Wind power is changing from supplementary power to alternative power, and is expected to play a leading role in energy development in the future. In order to achieve a high proportion of renewable energies, and promote sustainable development of wind power, this paper focuses on improving wind power utilization efficiency in China, and analyzes the current situation and existing problems of wind power utilization in China. From the aspects clustering control and optimal dispatch of large-scale wind power, wind power comprehensive utilization, multi-energy complementary utilization, and distributed integration and control, this paper proposes the technology development trend of wind power in China, and relative recommendations in wind power and the large energy power system development, market mechanism establishment, industry management and technical standard formulation are put forward.
With direct electricity, the water electrolysis technology provides pure hydrogen and oxygen from water. Zero-carbon recycling can be achieved with hydrogen as the energy carrier. Unstable renewable energy can be stored in hydrogen. With the concept of power-to-gas or power-to-liquid, high efficiency and zero emission are realized during energy conversion. It is a promising energy utilization solution for the human society in the future. In this review, the water electrolysis technology for industrial hydrogen production is investigated. The progress on proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis is summarized. Further, the future research trend of water electrolysis is discussed. Additionally, suggestions for hydrogen production from water electrolysis are provided.
Flexible solar cells could be applied in fields such as satellites, airships, drones, individual soldier equipment, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and wearable smart devices, which indicates great prospects. This paper introduces cell structures, fabrication methods and current statuses of four types of flexible solar cells respectively, including the flexible silicon thin film solar cell, the flexible CdTe solar cell, the flexible CIGS solar cell, and the flexible perovskite solar cell. This paper also analyses the key issue of efficiency improvement and the main problems in the industrialization of the flexible solar cells. Ultimately, the paper proposes suggestions from aspects of substrate development, efficiency improvement and industrial fabrication.
As it is urgently required to prevent and control pollution, China must accelerate the development of clean coal combustion technologies. However, currently there lacks researches on the technology roadmap of clean coal combustion in China. This paper briefly introduces main features of the coal utilization structure in China, and also the significance in developing clean coal combustion technologies. Then, focusing on 6 types of clean coal combustion technologies, we discuss the strategic ideology and targets, status quo at home and abroad, future technical directions, major fields and key technologies. On this basis, we depict a technology roadmap for the clean coal combustion in China before 2050, and also provide relevant policy recommendations. Results indicate that in the near future, China must accelerate the application of new circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technologies in small and medium-sized coal-fired industrial boilers, and popularize a batch of high-quality briquettes and advanced stoves in the field of residential coal combustion, so as to reduce the dispersed coal-burning pollution. In the long run, the government must strengthen planning and guidance to increase the proportion of coal for clean and efficient centralized power generation, and continuously research and develop green coal power generation technologies and systems for the future.
China is currently the world’s largest carbon emitter, and faces great pressure in emission reduction, with coal accounting for more than 75% of China’s carbon emissions in energy consumption. In this paper, development directions of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) / carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology in China are researched and proposed, roadmaps for CO2 capture technologies and transportation technologies, CO2 chemical industry, and micro-algae bio-oil production and mineralization technology are developed by time nodes, national carbon emissions that may be achieved by 2020, 2030, and 2050 are calculated, contributions of energy saving and consumption reduction, energy structure adjustment, the CCS/CCUS technology to CO2 emission reduction are evaluated, and recommendations for popularization and application of the CCS/CCUS technology are proposed.
China is rich in hydropower resources, and hydropower technology development is the first choice to increase the supply of renewable energy, optimize the energy structure, and alleviate environmental problems. This paper focuses on rich microhead resources in China and presents the demand and application characteristics of microhead resources such as rivers, canals, reservoirs, power plant tailings, piped water supply, municipal wastewater, and marine energy. The paper summarizes two types of microhead hydro-turbines suitable for open and closed watersheds, which provide a basis for the design method of microhead hydro-turbines and the study of their flow characteristics and mechanism. This paper introduces the research trend of microhead resource evaluation and hydropower turbines. In addition, some suggestions for future research are put forward.
Fish suffers inevitable injuries when passing a common hydraulic turbine. Injury and mortality of fish will cause pollution to the water. This will restrict the ecological development of the hydropower project. Aiming at the measures for downstream passage of the fish and existing problems, four kinds of injury mechanisms, namely, mechanical, pressure, shear force and cavitation injuries, are introduced in this paper. The injury degree of fish is related to the type and size of the fish body and the way to enter the hydraulic turbine system. According to the injury mechanisms, the main idea of the design of a fish-friendly hydraulic turbine is put forward. The criteria for designing a conventional fish-friendly hydraulic turbin and the design philosophy of a typical fish-friendly hydraulic turbine are expounded.
In order to explore the synergetic effect and the variation of small molecule gas products in the co-pyrolysis process of main components of biomass with plastics , a thermogravimetry-mass spectrum (TG-MS) method was used to study the co-pyrolysis characteristics of cellulose, xylan, lignin with polyethylene. The blending ratio of each co-pyrolysis sample was 1∶1(w/w). The weight loss intervals of the single components and the mixed components were obtained by the TG experiment, and the theoretical and experimental values were obtained by fitting the TG data of the individual components. It can be confirmed that the synergetic effect exists in the process of co-pyrolysis , and this effect promotes the decomposition of the samples. MS experimental data shows that the presence of polyethylene could facilitate the decomposition of the biomass components and increase the yield of small molecule gas products during the process of co-pyrolysis. The production of H2O and CO2 in the small molecular products in the pyrolysis of cellulose with polyethylene was increased. The xylan and polyethylene will promote the decomposition of each other during the copyrolysis process, and the yield of H2O, CH4, H2 and C2H4 will be raised. The co-pyrolysis between lignin and polyethylene could promote the the yield of CO, C2H4 and H2.
The increasing amount of food waste has serious impacts on the environment. At present, the quality of food waste compost is poor, such that soil is easily polluted. This study explores the fuel properties and combustion characteristics of solid products from torrefied food waste compost at five different torrefaction temperatures (250 ℃, 300 ℃, 350 ℃, 400 ℃ and 450 ℃) and a residence time of 30 min. The results show that torrefaction has a significant effect on the fuel properties (ultimate analysis, proximate analysis, HHV, Cl content, mass yield, and energy yield) and combustion characteristics of the food waste compost. The fixed carbon and C content, and HHV of the solid products from the torrefied food waste compost increase; the content of Cl decreases, which effectively inhibits generation of dioxin precursors during combustion and reduces secondary pollution. Heat generated during the burning of the food waste compost after torrefaction is mainly in the fixed carbon combustion stage. Following torrefaction, the overall combustion heat discharge increased and the combustion characteristics improved. The torrefaction temperature of the food waste compost should be between 250~300 ℃. Torrefaction pretreatment improves the fuel characteristics of the food waste compost significantly. Food waste compost can be treated as solid fuels to achieve harmless, reduction and resourceful utilization of food waste compost.
According to the urban energy strategy development indexes, this paper puts forward six principles for index design, and constructs a two-grade index system for development evaluation of the urban energy strategy, and corresponding calculation models and methods. The two-grade index system introduces new revolution, new technologies, new formats and new business models into the energy system, and covers eleven aspects: energy supply, energy consumption, electric power replacement, efficiency promotion, system flexibility, green and low carbon, innovation and development, industry development, safety and reliability, economic benefits, and energy system. This index system adapts to decisions on development of the urban energy strategy in China. For the evaluation and prediction of energy strategy in 2017, 2020 and 2030, this index system is applied to Zhangjiakou as an example for verification. This paper points out that Zhangjiakou has a strong resource foundation, a great development potential and also important fields in need of technological breakthroughs, proposes energy development goals and strategic development advices, and provides guidance for future urban energy development.
New materials and related new equipment, as a significant part of integration of the smart grid and the energy grid, plays a critical part in promoting China’s energy revolution, facilitating the energy structure transformation, and stimulating the innovative development of the energy industry. In the context of integrated grid, the key technology of new materials and related new equipment, and their important contributions to China’s energy strategic layout and development are first discussed in this paper. This paper also reveals some dominant restraints, trends and challenges of new materials and related new equipment based on the state-of-the-art status of the integrated grid. In this basis, several suggestions are proposed at the end of this paper, striving to facilitate construction of China’s new materials and related new equipment, and propel in-depth development of the integrated grid.
As an important part of the Energy Internet, the demand-side smart energy system is an important form of energy system in the future. It is of great significance for realizing the distributed local consumption of renewable energy and improving the efficiency of terminal energy utilization. This paper discusses the characteristics of the demand-side smart energy system, listing the key equipment and technologies related to energy production, transmission, distribution, conversion, storage, and consumption of the demand-side energy system, as well as analyzing the industrial development model. Finally, the development prospects of the demand-side smart energy system are further elaborated in the stages of experimental demonstration, application promotion, general application and complete marketization.