Materials and their manufacturing technology are the premise and foundation to support and guarantee the safe and stable operation of nuclear engineering. Among the 56 nuclear power plants in service or under construction, 52 nuclear power plants adopt pressurized water reactors. Demonstration power plants are being built for the high temperature gas cooled reactor and the sodium cold fast reactor, and other reactor types such as molten salt reactors, accelerator-driven subcritical systems, and supercritical water reactors are still in the research stage. This paper summarized and analyzed the challenges and problems in the course of research, manufacturing, and engineering application of materials used for China’s new-generation nuclear power plants, and further proposed some strategic suggestions for the development of these materials, including establishing a national steering committee to guide their development; establishing a national research fund to specially support their development; creating an advanced and complete standards system for their development; constructing a national shared engineering-level radiation experimental device; and under the principle of independence, continuing the international cooperation in the related flied.
This study analyzed the worldwide status of and development trends in pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel and material technology, fast reactor and other advanced reactor fuel technology, and material technology related to nuclear fuel cycles; and proposed corresponding target, roadmap, and key tasks. PWR has been the dominant reactor type for nuclear power generation and energy structure transformation in China for quite a long time. As an important foundation for the development of PWRs, nuclear fuel and materials have basically achieved localization, but still lack self-reliance in brand. China’s fast reactor and fast reactor nuclear fuel development as well as its nuclear fuel cycle industry face significant development opportunities and challenges. This paper puts forward suggestions on the development of nuclear fuels and materials for PWRs, fast reactors, and nuclear fuel cycles in China.
High temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) together with its successor, the very high temperature reactor, is one of the six nuclear energy systems identified and selected by the Generation IV International Forum for further development. The paper briefly summarizes the technical characteristics of HTGR and reviews the recent research and development status of HTGR technology at home and abroad. It also discusses the strategic positioning of HTGR in China and looks ahead to the HTGR technology development road map in China. China has gone through the stages such as tracking, stepping over, and independent innovation in the past years, and now is in the front-runner status with respect to the commercial-level HTGR nuclear power plant. On this basis, China is working on the design of 600 MW pebble bed HTGR (HTR-PM600), so as to further promote industrialization of the HTGR technology and stay ahead in this field.
Nuclear hydrogen production is one of the most prospective approaches for efficient, massive and CO2-free hydrogen production, while the high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) which has been intensively developed in China is considered as the most suitable reactor type for nuclear hydrogen production. Currently, the HTGR demonstration plant, HTR-PM, is under construction under the framework of the National Science and Technology Major Project. The principles and main routes for nuclear hydrogen production, including the iodine-sulfur thermochemical water-splitting process, the hybrid sulfur process, as well as the high temperature steam electrolysis, are introduced. The progress of the nuclear hydrogen production technologies both in the world and China are shortly presented and reviewed, and its safety analysis and techno-economic assessment are discussed. In addition, the potential technologies for coupling to the reactor are discussed, and the industrial application of the nuclear hydrogen production based on HTGR is prospected, taking steelmaking by hydrogen as an example. Finally, the development strategy and prospects of nuclear hydrogen production technology in China are proposed.
As one of the six General IV nuclear reactors, the molten salt reactor (MSR) has received an increasing attention around the world owing to its high energy conversion efficiency, inherent safety feature, and application of the thorium fuel. However, major components for MSRs are facing great challenges due to the extreme environments of high temperature, corrosive molten fluoride salt, and neutron irradiation inside the MSRs. In this paper, requirements for the MSR materials are analyzed; the development history, current status, and existing problems of the key MSR materials (including alloy structure materials and nuclear graphite) are depicted; key technical problems to be solved during the current construction of experimental MSRs are pointed out; and the development strategy for the MSR materials is proposed, based on the research and development plan for the MSRs.
Accelerator-driven subcritical system (ADS) mainly composes of a high beam intensity high-energy-ion accelerator, a high-power spallation target, and a subcritical reactor. ADS is a key part of the accelerator-driven advanced nuclear energy system (ADANES), and its research and development (R&D) will play a very important role in promoting China’s energy transformation and stimulating the innovative development of China’s nuclear energy industry. In this paper, the status and potential trends as well as materials requirements for the R&D of ADS facilities are introduced. Then the R&D progress and problems, development opportunities, and challenges of the key materials for the high-power spallation target and the subcritical reactor are intensively discussed. Finally, several countermeasures are proposed, in the hope of pushing forward the ADS facility construction and the technological innovation of advanced nuclear fission energy, and promoting safe, efficient, and sustainable development of advanced nuclear fission energy in the future.
China’s mineral resource sector is large but not competitive, and it lags far behind that of countries such as the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada. The next ten years is a key stage for China's transition from a large to a powerful country in mineral resources. Constructing a strong mineral resources sector is an important development issue currently facing China. Considering the current situation and problems of China’s mineral resources, and combining experiences from countries with competitive mineral resource sectors, this paper formulated a three-step goal proposal for China to establish a strong mineral resource sector. Furthermore, this paper proposes to boast China’s mineral resource sector by enhancing the managing and planning ability of global mineral resources, greatly promoting the sustainable development ability of domestic mineral resources, and establishing a unified mineral resource management system. Additionally, proposals are offered from the aspects of scientific layout of the mineral resources industrial chain, mineral resource cooperation with countries along “the Belt and Road”, and urban mineral recycling. Finally, this paper puts forward the development direction for important mineral resources in China from the perspectives of fossil energy resources such as coal, oil and natural gas; renewable resources such as solar energy and wind energy; bulk metal minerals such as iron, copper, and aluminum; as well as rare-earth, scattered, and rare minerals.
This paper aims to clarify the emerging concept “great power of mineral resources” in China and to offer some policy proposals based on the development of international mineral resource industry. First, we analyzed the intensions of “great power” concepts which have existed in the history, and extended them as the intensions and definition of “great power of mineral resources” after combining the characteristics of the mineral resources industry. Next, we examined the definition through case analysis of the mineral resource industries in the United States and China. Finally, we proposed that the “great power of mineral resources” be defined as “a specific nation that has the goal to promote sustainable development and global governance of mineral resources, possesses the capability to exert its influences on production, finance, governance, and knowledge structure of the global mineral resource industry, and thus can maintain its own political and economic interests”. To develop a “great power of mineral resources,” China should enhance its influence on finance, governance, and knowledge hierarchy of the global mineral resource industry based on its strong production capability.
Since 2000, the global mining industry has fluctuated cyclically with the world economy, and China has become the main driver of the development of global mining. The overall investment in global mineral exploration and development was insufficient, and new discoveries declined. The consumption of mineral products in the world generally increased, and the demand for new energy and new materials such as lithium and cobalt surged. Mining companies have shifted from large-scale expansion to asset restructuring, and invested more cautiously. The mineral resources strategy has been paid widespread attention, and mining regulations and policies generally tightened. Looking into the future, the world’s mineral consumption will continue to rise. South Asia will become a hot spot for mining investment. The energy revolution and artificial intelligence will promote the leap of the global mining industry, and the conflicts of interest in mining will escalate further.
Since 2000, China’s consumption of energy and mineral resources has grown rapidly, and its consumption of some important mineral resources has even exceeded half of the global consumption. Medium- and long-term resource demand forecast is an important basis for national policy formulation and strategic planning. Based on historical statistics such as China’s population, GDP, and mineral resources consumption, this paper adopts the S-shape rule of per capita consumption, the demand analogy and proportional relationship measurement algorithm, and the departmental consumption method, to systematically predict the demand for 43 types of major mineral resources before 2035. Results show that China’s demand for mineral resources has changed from high-speed growth to differential growth; its demand for most of the bulk minerals will peak by 2025; the structure of primary energy sources will change dramatically when their demand peak by 2030, with the demand for Coal falling from 60.4% in 2017 to 46.3%, that for natural gas increasing from 6.6% to 13.2%, and that for non-fossil energy increasing from 13.6% to 23.4%; and demand for most strategic emerging minerals will continue to grow before 2035, and the global structure and pattern of supply and demand for energy and mineral resources will change greatly.
This paper first studies the development status of domestic and overseas venture exploration capital markets (VECMs). Combining the current situation of the venture exploration market in China, this paper concludes that lack of participants in the VECM, lack of credibility of mining investment, backward mining policies, and the defective supporting system for the VEMC are the main challenges in building a strong VECM. To establish the VECM in China, the paper proposes a three-step development path, which to first cultivating the VECM participants in China using the overseas market, then improving the domestic mining investment environment and establishing a credit system, and finally, establishing China’s VECM.
Energy resource bases are strategic core areas for guaranteeing China’s mineral resources security. They shoulder the important mission of ensuring national resources security, and play a significant role in optimizing the spatial development pattern of mineral resources, changing the development mode of mining industry, and promoting high-quality development of the mining industry. In this study, the 103 energy resource bases proposed in National Mineral Resources Planning (2016–2020) were taken as the research objects. The connotation, strategic positioning, basic theoretical foundation, construction tasks, and delimitation principles of the bases were discussed. The distribution situation of the bases was analyzed from the aspects of mineral species as well as regions. Meanwhile, the problems in the delimitation and management of the bases were put forward. For example, their administration has not been included in the provincial development plans, construction plans of the bases are not well formulated, the bases do not match with the state planned mining areas, and incentive policies for the bases are not specific. To provide support for the strategic planning and management of mineral resources, policy suggestions for promoting the construction of energy resource bases were proposed from five aspects: implementation plan, supervision policy, incentive policy, mechanism construction, and security system.
As the preponderant mineral resources in China, coal plays a dominant role in the country’s energy structure. China has become the largest producer and consumer of coal resources in the world. To suit this new situation, it is urgent to build China into a “great power of coal resources”. First, we clarify the emerging concept and characteristics of “great power of coal resources”. Next, we assess the current status and challenges of China’s coal industry from the aspects of green resources, engineering technology, talent education, enterprise economy, and “the Belt and Road” development. Finally, we propose the strategic targets and paths to achieve “great power of coal resources” in China. Corresponding policy proposals for the development of China’s coal industry are offered. China’s coal industry has its advantages in resource supply and utilization capacities but is uncompetitive in technologies, industries, and markets associated with exploration, development, and utilization of the coal resources. To develop a “great power of coal resources”, China needs to increase the reserves of green coal resources, promote the innovation capability of engineering technology, optimize the enterprise development and market environment, provide strong personnel and institutional guarantee, and thus improve the international competitiveness of China’s coal industry.
As a forerunner of the supply-side structure reform, China’s iron and steel industry actively resolves its overcapacity. More than 1.2×108 t of excessive steel production capacity has been resolved between 2016 and 2017, and 1.4×108 t of illegal production capacity, such as “substandard steel” has been eliminated. As the global iron and steel industry is currently in the excess production capacity cycle, China’s steel consumption has developed from a sustained growth phase to a peak value platform area. Meanwhile, both the crude steel consumption intensity per unit GDP and that per unit investment has decreased. It is expected that the consumption demand and output of crude steel in China will reach 6×108−6.5×108 t and 6.5×108−7.0×108 t by 2025, respectively; and these same items will reach 5.3×108−6.0×108 t and 5.9×108−6.5×108 t by 2030, respectively. Meanwhile, the supply of steel scrap resources in China will increase rapidly, and the sufficient steel scrap resources will become a strong support for China’s iron and steel industry. The structure of iron resources will also be greatly changed, and the demand for international iron ore resources will decrease gradually. All the changes are important in promoting ecological civilization construction and green development.
This paper focuses on the strategic research on five nonmetallic mineral resources for building materials, namely limestone for cement, silica raw materials for glass, clay mineral raw materials for sanitary ceramics (kaolin clay), high-purity quartz, and graphite. To develop nonmetallic mineral resources for building materials, this paper first offers the roadmap and objectives, and then proposes several key tasks, which are strengthening the planning and protection of mining area, constructing supply demonstration bases and standard raw materials bases, and promoting the strategic resource reserve system. To support the construction of a great power of nonmetallic mineral resources for building materials, a leading team should be set up, the standards system for raw materials and products of mineral resources should be improved, a personnel training system should be established, and laws and regulations on mineral resources should be formulated and implemented.
Nuclear energy mineral resources refer to uranium resources and thorium resources with potential application prospects. At present, it mainly refers to uranium resources. With an unbalanced global distribution, the supply and demand of the uranium resources will inevitably be adjusted through the market. To build a competitive nuclear industry, a strong supply capacity of the nuclear energy mineral resources is required. A great power of nuclear energy mineral resources should possess both resource endowment and resource management capabilities. The main indicators for a great power of nuclear energy mineral resources should include domestic resource support capacity, scientific and technological strength, enterprise strength, international management and planning abilities, and sustainable development potentials. To become a great power of nuclear energy mineral resources, China should implement a number of major scientific and technological innovation projects and major application demonstration projects; build a number of 1000-ton uranium resources development bases; participate in international cooperation by actively “going global”, especially cooperation with the “Belt and Road” countries; and provide policy support for scientific and technological innovation, industrial development, and overseas development.
China is rich in rear earth, rear metal, and rare-scattered element (RRR) minerals in general, and is a major producer and exporter. However, owing to backward deep-processing technologies, high environmental costs, poor strategic awareness, and other reasons, China still doesn’t have a say in the global RRR mineral market. As China has entered a critical period where technological innovation drives social development, the RRR minerals become vital because of their unlimited potentials for innovation. In this paper, based on the data accumulated during the investigation and prospecting of the RRR minerals since 2011, we briefly summarize the main characteristics of the RRR minerals, propose some suggestions for their development and utilization, and further emphasize the basic idea that “rare earth should be regulated, rare metal should be found when needed, and rare-scattered elements should be well used.”
In this paper, the sigmoid growth curve model is adopted to predict the future demand for phosphate rock resources in China under high- and low-demand scenarios. Data shows that the total demand for phosphate rocks in China will reach approximately 2.2−2.7 billion tons between 2017 and 2050. This demand can be met by domestic supply. At the same time, the relation between the status quo and demand of the phosphate rock resource is analyzed according to its current production status. Analysis shows that China’s phosphorus resources have a serious overcapacity. With 4.7% of the world’s phosphorus reserves, China is now supplying phosphorus rocks to more than 50% of the global market. The development intensity of China’s phosphorus rocks is too high. In this way, China’s phosphorus rock resources will become short after 2050. To guarantee a sustainable supply of China’s phosphate rock resources in future and thus ensure food security, China should exercise strict control over domestic production capacity and limit production, and make the best of the global allocation of resources to develop foreign resources.
As important raw materials for national economic development, copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) are the most consumed non-ferrous metals. China’s Cu, Al, Pb, Zn production and consumption have consistently ranked first in the world for more than a decade, but the output of mining resources is far from meeting domestic consumption, which leads to a high degree of dependence on foreign resources. Based on exploitation and utilization status study and future demand forecast of Cu, Al, Pb, Zn in China, this paper analyzes the guarantee level of domestic, foreign, and secondary resources to the consumption demands, and formulates a safe supply strategy for Cu, Al, Pb, Zn resources. The safety guarantee target for Cu, Al, Pb, Zn metals in the next 20 years will be quantitatively constructed from the three sources of domestic supply, overseas development, and international trade, and from the three procedures of mineral products, recycled metals, and refined metals. Various strategic measures should be implemented to ensure the safety of Cu, Al, Pb, Zn metal resources, such as increasing domestic exploration and development, improving domestic supply capacity, adhering to green and sustainable development of domestic resources, strengthening secondary resource recovery, and actively utilizing overseas resources.
Copper resources play an important role in the development of national economy. However, there is a large gap between supply and demand of copper resources in China. Tibet is a province with the most abundant copper resources in China, so the scientific and rational exploitation of copper resources in Tibet plays a very important role in ensuring the sustainable supply of copper resources in China. This paper summarizes the distribution characteristics of Tibet’s copper resources and the advantages and disadvantages for exploiting copper resources in Tibet. It proposes that we should adhere to the concept of scientific development, construct green development bases for copper resources in major metallogenic belts in Tibet, accelerate scientific exploration and orderly development of copper resources, correctly handle the relation between resource development and environment protection, and give full play to the economic, social, and environmental benefits brought about by the exploitation of copper resources, to promote the steady development of Tibetan society and achieve the goal of targeted poverty alleviation.
China has numerous salt lakes, and the development of salt lake agriculture is of realistic and strategic significance in desert control, ecological environment protection, economic growth in the west, and development of featured agricultures in semi-arid and arid regions. As world population grows, food and fresh water shortage is aggravated, and thus developing the salt lake agriculture becomes essential in guaranteeing human food security. Strategic studies on the salt lake agriculture becomes especially urgent. This paper depicts recent achievements of the salt lake agriculture and identifies the problems in salt lake agriculture development. Finally, suggestions are proposed on innovation-driven development of the salt lake agriculture, including enrolling it into national science and technology planning, and zoning saline-alkali land in salt lake basins by functions.