Chapter 257 The Most Important Technology in the Letter

【.Now, our project has entered a critical stage. According to the plan, we will complete the construction and start-up of the first nuclear waste test power station before June of the first half of next year. 】

【But correspondingly, we also need more scientific research funds and related resources to speed up this pace. 】

【According to the plan, in the next arrangement, the "Nuclear Energy β Radiation Energy Concentration Conversion Electric Energy Mechanism Project" will be launched】

In the study, the bright light illuminates a figure writing furiously.

At night, Xu Chuan, who was crawling in front of the table, finally put down the last stroke.

Looking at the letter on the table, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This letter contains not only the report of the institute's achievements during this period, but also some prospects for the future and expectations for controlled nuclear fusion technology.

Some technologies in the Nuclear Energy β Radiation Energy Concentration Conversion Electric Energy Mechanism Project are not limited to the treatment of nuclear waste.

Whether it is the atomic cycle theory or the gap band lattice that can absorb radiation particles inspired by the red pearl butterfly, they are widely used.

He did not describe these technologies and theories in detail, but simply mentioned them in the letter.

I believe that even if he did not say it, the above can find out.

Perhaps in terms of innovation, his motherland is still a little lacking, but when it comes to expansion, probably no country can compare.

Of course, more importantly, there is also the application for the next stage of scientific research funds.

At any time, money is not omnipotent in scientific research, but it is absolutely impossible to do without money.

After checking the letter he wrote and confirming that there was no problem, Xu Chuan called Zheng Hai and handed him the sealed letter.

Zheng Hai was nominally his driver, but he was also responsible for serving as a bridge to communicate between him and the above.

After all, everyone is a busy person, and it is impossible to run around in person every time there is something.

Beijing, north side of Chang'an Avenue.

In an antique building, a simple letter was handed to an old man.

After hearing who sent the letter, the old man's calm eyes moved, opened the envelope and took out the letter from it.

Ordinary letter paper is not thick, even if it is mixed with some instructions, design drawings and the like, it is only about seven or eight pages.

The old man looked down and flipped through the manuscript in his hand, his eyes became brighter, but this brightness was occasionally confused.

For him, even if the owner of the letter has used quite popular words to describe those scientific and technological principles, there are still many terms that he can't understand.

But it doesn't matter, from this letter, he saw a broad future.

This is the most important thing.

After thinking for a while, the old man called a guard over, said a few words, and closed his eyes again to think.

In addition to the broad future, there are some other things in the letter, and he also needs to consult professionals.

Maybe it's the first time to send a letter here? Professor Xu piled up a lot of professional terms in the letter.

Although there are more detailed explanations at the end, it is still a bit too difficult for him, a non-professional, to fully understand.

It didn't take long for Qin Anguo of Science and Technology Information and Academician Peng Hongxi of Shuimu University to follow the guards to this room.

No one is perfect, even he needs to listen to other people's opinions.

"I have a letter here, you take a look first."

Seeing the two people coming, the old man nodded and signaled the staff around him to hand the copied letter to Qin Anguo and Peng Hongxi.

With some doubtful eyes, the two took the letter and read it.

Seeing the title of the letter, Peng Hongxi smiled.

Although he didn't know what it was before coming, he guessed it when he got the letter.

Unlike the old man, he quickly skimmed over those clichés that didn't mean anything to him, and his eyes fell on the words such as technical analysis and design instructions in the attached letter.

As a worker in the nuclear energy field, he clearly knew the value of the nuclear energy beta radiation energy gathering and conversion into electric energy mechanism project.

But he was not completely clear about some technical details and theories in this project.

After all, he was just a consultant, and there was probably only one person who controlled all the details.

Even Han Jin, the supervisor, might not know all the details and technologies.

So he was quite interested in the technical principles in this letter. Although it was just some concise words, he could still see the exquisiteness behind these technologies and some uses that he had never thought of before.

On the other side, Qin Anguo from the Department of Science and Technology was also flipping through the letter in his hand.

Although he was also a scientific researcher before, he is now in a management position, and his thinking and perspective are naturally different.

Unlike Peng Hongxi, he is more thinking about the benefits of investing in this project and the "controlled nuclear fusion plan" mentioned in this letter.

[.Excuse me, although the nuclear energy beta radiation energy concentration conversion power mechanism project can properly handle nuclear waste, and nuclear fission power generation is also a clean energy, we still have to find a new, pollution-free, and cheaper energy. ]

[The reason must not require me to elaborate too much, such as the cost of generating one kilowatt-hour of electricity is more than twice that of thermal power, for example.]

[Controlled nuclear fusion technology has great advantages over traditional thermal power generation or nuclear fission power generation. ]

[Under the mature conditions of atomic cycle technology and radiation power conversion technology, we are already qualified to improve it. In this regard, I believe that after integrating the technology, we have already stood at the forefront of the world.]

[.]

Looking at the letter, Qin Anguo fell into thought.

Needless to say, the former, now that it has developed to this point, the construction of nuclear waste power plants is necessary.

Even if the second batch of scientific research funds of more than 30 billion yuan is proposed in this letter, it will be allocated without hesitation, and it will definitely be at the fastest speed.

But before that, there is also the prospect of controlled nuclear fusion in the letter, which is also something worth careful consideration.

Although from the current perspective, after nuclear waste can be properly handled, nuclear fission power generation is already a real clean energy and can be promoted with the greatest effort.

But as stated in the letter, nuclear fission power generation has its own shortcomings.

First of all, the initial investment in nuclear power plants is huge.

Since nuclear-grade equipment has higher requirements for design, materials, and manufacturing processes than conventional equipment, the construction cycle of nuclear power plants is relatively long, usually taking 5-7 years from preliminary planning to operation.

During this period, most of the capital expenditure comes from bank loans, and the interest generated is very high. If the project is delayed, the cost will be even higher.

For example, the construction of Unit 3 of the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant in Finland started in 2004, and it has been delayed by nearly 15 years than the original plan. The investment is almost three times the budget, which has reached 8.5 billion euros.

Secondly, for safety reasons, nuclear power plants are equipped with a large number of redundant equipment, which invisibly raises the cost of equipment manufacturing and unit construction.

For example, the third-generation unit "Hualong One" currently under construction in China considers more safety than the second-generation unit, and its construction cost has also increased significantly.

The estimated construction cost of Hualong One is between 16,000 and 20,000 yuan/kilowatt, while the estimated unit cost of EPR is as high as 6,000 US dollars/kilowatt.

In addition to the high construction cost, in the future, factors such as rising international uranium prices and aging and decommissioning of nuclear power plants may further increase the cost of nuclear power.

The most direct impact of high costs is that nuclear power will be less competitive in the electricity market, and high costs are not conducive to nuclear power exports.

These are all foreseeable.

More importantly, China is a truly large energy consumer.

According to last year's statistics, in 2018, the total electricity consumption of the whole society reached 684.49 billion kWh.

Among them, thermal power, which uses coal as the main power generation energy source, accounts for about 73.23% of the total national power generation, the real big head.

Nuclear power accounts for only 4.33%, less than 5%.

Is it that China cannot afford to build more nuclear power plants?

Not really.

If it is to be built, with China's strong infrastructure capabilities, nuclear power plants can be built all over the coastal cities overnight.

But it didn't.

On the one hand, it benefited from the previous problem of difficult handling of nuclear waste.

On the other hand, the cost of nuclear power generation is too high.

Compared with thermal power, it costs more than double to connect each kilowatt-hour of nuclear power to the grid, which will lead to a sharp rise in electricity prices.

Let alone other things, from the simplest residential electricity consumption, each kilowatt-hour of electricity has increased from 0.6 yuan to 1.2 yuan, which is almost an unacceptable price.

But compared with nuclear fission, nuclear fusion is indeed the real ultimate energy.

Whether it is from the perspective of power generation cost or other aspects, nuclear fusion is the real ideal.

However, this ideal has always been too far away from people, so far that people describe it as "eternal fifty years".

"What do you think about this letter?"

After waiting for Qin Anguo and Peng Hongxi to finish reading the copy in their hands, the old man sitting next to them slowly asked.

After a pause, Qin Anguo decisively said: "Let's not talk about other things for now. Regarding the second batch of scientific research funds applied by Professor Xu for the construction of nuclear waste experiments, I think it is very necessary and as soon as possible."

The old man and Academician Peng Hongxi nodded, and both agreed with this view.

After all, no one would be short-sighted to stand here today.

The regeneration of nuclear waste can not only solve China's energy shortage problem to a large extent, but also bring China greater voice in the international arena.

Especially in Europe, it can bring greater benefits to China.

No region in the world is more dependent on nuclear power than Europe.

For example, France, the largest nuclear power producer, has nuclear power generation accounting for more than 50% of the country's total power generation.

The remaining countries such as Germany, Spain, and Sweden also account for a considerable proportion.

Therefore, these countries have basically accumulated a huge amount of nuclear waste and don't know how to deal with it.

Now that they have the key technology in their hands, they may get more benefits and support from there in exchange.

After the three of them exchanged for a while, the old man turned his eyes to Academician Peng Hongxi on the side, and then said: "Academician Peng, I heard that you are a consultant in the nuclear energy project. Regarding some scientific and technological terms in this letter, can you explain it to me?"

"Maybe Professor Xu has tried his best to describe it in concise words, but it is really difficult for me to understand it without having studied these things."

He had some understanding of some of the technical terms in the letter, but was not sure whether they really meant it and whether it could be done.

That's why Peng Hongxi, an academician in the field of nuclear energy and a consultant on nuclear energy research projects, was invited for consultation.

The old man has no shame about his shortcomings.

No one is perfect, and learning is something a person has to do from birth to death.

Academician Peng Hongxi nodded quickly and said, "This is what I want to mention to you next."

After a pause, he continued: "About some of the technologies in this letter."

In the antique room, Peng Hongxi described his understanding in words that the old man could understand in a calm and thoughtful tone.

".Compared with the previous atomic recycling technology, the next gap lattice that can absorb radiation particles may be even more important."

After a pause, Peng Hongxi continued with cautious words: "Because it can not only be applied to controllable nuclear fusion technology, but also may be applied to a field we have never thought of - electromagnetic wave stealth, and then extended to the military field!"

Hearing this, the old man asked with interest: "How do you say it?"

Peng Hongxi calmed down and continued: "Because it can absorb radiation!"

"No matter which type of radar we use currently, its essence is electromagnetic waves, and the essence of electromagnetic waves is radiation."

Speaking of this, Qin Anguo, who was very advanced in science and technology, also reacted and blurted out: "If this technology can be applied to coating materials, we may be able to create a brand new stealth fighter."

Opposite me, Academician Peng Hongxi nodded and continued: "Yes."

"I have personally witnessed part of the process of radiation-to-electrical energy conversion experiments at the Institute of Atomic and Nuclear Sciences of the Shanghai Academy of Sciences. There is no doubt that it can absorb and utilize most of the radiation except neutron radiation."

"Logically speaking, this technology should also have the ability to absorb electromagnetic waves, which are also a type of radiation."

"It's just that it has never been tested so far, and I don't know if it can really be done, and if it can, to what extent it can be done."

After a pause, he continued: "Of course, I may have misunderstood what Professor Xu really meant."

"After all, I don't actually know much about the technologies related to nuclear energy projects. Although I am a consultant, I have not fully participated in the work of nuclear energy projects."

"If you want a real understanding, I suggest you ask Professor Xu."