The Sub-forum on Nuclear Power Industry Development of the 2025 International Forum on Energy Transition was held in Suzhou.

On October 23, the Sub-forum on Nuclear Power Industry Development of the 2025 International Forum on Energy Transition was held in Suzhou. Focusing on the theme "Nuclear Powering the Future, Co-Innovation Leading the Way," the sub-forum brought together over 150 Chinese and foreign delegates from national energy authorities, international organizations, nuclear energy enterprises, and research institutions for in-depth discussions on topics such as collaboration across the nuclear power industry chain, innovation in key technologies, equipment manufacturing upgrades, and international cooperation.

As an integral part of the International Energy Transformation Forum, the sub-forum harmonized with the main forum, concentrating on emerging nuclear energy trends during the global energy transition. At the critical juncture of planning and deploying the 15th Five-Year Plan, participants explored how the nuclear power industry can embody the new concept for development of "innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing" to achieve a high-quality and sustainable future.

High-quality development with strong performance: 43.18% of the world's top-performing nuclear units are from China.

▲ Zeng Yachuan, Director General of the Nuclear Power Department, National Energy Administration of China.

The significance of nuclear energy is increasingly evident in the global transition towards clean, low-carbon energy sources. In his address, Zeng Yachuan, Director General of the Nuclear Power Department of the National Energy Administration of China, highlighted that in 2024, global nuclear power generation reached its highest level in nearly a decade, with expectations for robust growth continuing. For four consecutive years, multiple leading international organizations have raised their nuclear energy development forecasts, projecting that by 2050, the world's installed nuclear power capacity will exceed 900 GW, effectively doubling in scale.

In this process, China, as one of the few nations possessing a complete nuclear power industry system, is playing an indispensable role. Currently, China has 59 operational nuclear power units with a total installed capacity of 62.48 GW; there are 53 approved units under construction with a total capacity of 62.93 GW. The total installed capacity has surpassed 125 GW, maintaining its status as the global leader.

▲ Edouard Veyron, Deputy Director of the WANO Paris Centre.

China's nuclear power safety performance is exceptionally notable. To date, China's operational nuclear units have safely and stably operated for over 600 reactor-years, maintaining the top global ranking in the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) composite index for nine consecutive years. According to the 2024 WANO composite index, as many as 43.18% of the top-performing nuclear units globally are from China. Edouard Veyron, Deputy Director of the WANO Paris Centre, stated: "WANO will collaborate with all member units to aim for excellence in safety, thereby continuously enhancing the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants worldwide through peer reviews, benchmarking, and best practice sharing."

▲ Gao Ligang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee and General Manager of China General Nuclear Power Corporation Limited (CGN).

In his speech, Gao Ligang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee and General Manager of CGN, shared that as the main driving force in China's nuclear energy development, CGN is committed to its mission of "developing clean energy to benefit human society," with installed capacity in nuclear power and other clean energy surpassing 100 GW. He disclosed that with the official implementation of the Atomic Energy Law of the People's Republic of China early next year, China's nuclear energy industry's healthy and sustainable development is set to advance, with nuclear energy playing a larger role in tackling climate change.

New industry chain breakthroughs: Hualong One (HPR1000) achieves complete autonomy in its equipment capability.

Since the commissioning of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in 1994, over 30 years of technical accumulation and industry collaboration have allowed China to construct a world-class nuclear power industry chain. With the large-scale construction of Hualong One (HPR1000) serving as a milestone, China not only has mastered core technologies in the design and manufacturing of key nuclear equipment but has also driven over 5,400 upstream and downstream enterprises to innovate together, achieving domestic production of over 400 key equipment items. Hualong One now boasts complete autonomy in equipment capability.

▲ Li Jianhua, Member of the CPC Leadership Group and Deputy General Manager of Dongfang Electric Corporation.

The industry chain's backbone enterprises have exhibited strong capabilities in complete-set supply and forward-looking strategies. Li Jianhua, Member of the CPC Leadership Group and Deputy General Manager of Dongfang Electric Corporation, noted that as a representative enterprise within the industry chain, Dongfang Electric has achieved a systematic upgrade from initial technological breakthroughs to intelligent manufacturing, establishing stable supply capabilities of 4-6 reactor pressure vessels and other nuclear island main equipment per year, as well as 6-8 turbine generator sets and other conventional island main equipment annually.

▲ Ma Limin, Deputy General Manager of CGN Engineering Co., Ltd.

"Large-scale deployment" is becoming the key path for China's nuclear power to reach higher levels of development. Currently, the total number of Hualong One units under construction and operation stands at 41, ranking first globally. Ma Limin, Deputy General Manager of CGN Engineering Co., Ltd., presented detailed data showcasing the "learning curve" effect: key construction milestones such as from the first concrete pouring (FCD) to dome lifting, from dome lifting to cold functional testing, and then to hot functional testing for Hualong One are continuously optimizing, demonstrating a positive trend of "each unit performing better than the previous one."

▲ Jean-Philippe Lamarcade, Head of EDF China.

Jean-Philippe Lamarcade, Head of EDF China, advocated at the forum for two-way openness in the supply chain, urging cooperation based on "mutual recognition of standards, quality improvement, and innovation synergy" to unlock the systemic value of nuclear energy.

New achievements in digitalization: The Hemu System has been utilized in 33 nuclear units with various technologies.

Faced with a new wave of technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data, China's nuclear power industry is rapidly advancing its digital transformation.

▲ The Hemu System—China's first independently developed nuclear-grade DCS platform.

▲ Bai Tao, Chief Engineer of CGN Digital Technology Co., Ltd.

A significant breakthrough is achieving independent, controllable capability for the "central nervous system" of nuclear power. In 2010, CGN successfully developed its independently created nuclear-grade digital control system (DCS) platform—the Hemu System—making China the fourth nation globally to master this technology. According to Bai Tao, Chief Engineer of CGN Digital Technology Co., Ltd., the Hemu System has now been widely applied to 33 nuclear power units including Hualong One (HPR1000), VVER, and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, covering second-, third-, and fourth-generation technologies, achieving comprehensive reactor type and technology route application coverage.

▲ Through the "Smart Construction Site" system, key elements including personnel, machinery, materials, methods, and environment are closely monitored, enabling comprehensive, real-time, and intelligent oversight, and facilitating the integration of "Internet +" with on-site construction.

Digital transformation has infiltrated every stage of nuclear power project construction. CGN's fully promoted "Smart Construction Site" enables visualization management of the entire project lifecycle and all elements via digital and intelligent technologies. Managers can conduct comprehensive intelligent monitoring of on-site operations via the central large screen, and carry out precise management of key quality checkpoint processes.

▲ Product architecture of "Smart Nuclear Power" and "Two Platforms, One Network"

In April 2025, China's first nuclear power industry operating system with fully independent intellectual property rights — "Smart Nuclear Power" — was officially released. The system deeply integrates cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, achieving intelligent upgrades for nuclear power plant equipment, as if equipping the plant with a real-time sensing "electrocardiogram detector" and an interconnected "neural network."

▲ Yu Xiao, Deputy Director of the Digitalization Division, Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute

Regarding the promotion and application of digitalization in China's nuclear power project construction sector, Yu Xiao, Deputy Director of the Digitalization Division at the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute, stated: "China's nuclear power construction is integrating key data from design, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning. Project management is transforming from 'document-driven' to 'model-driven and data-driven'."

Cutting-edge new developments: Collaborative innovation tackling the "ultimate energy" — nuclear fusion

During the forum, controllable nuclear fusion, known as the "ultimate clean energy," became a focal point of heated discussion among participating experts. It was unanimously agreed that the development of fusion energy carries profound strategic significance for addressing humanity's future energy needs and supporting the nation's economic and social development.

▲ Zhang Long, Deputy Director of the Fusion Science Division, Southwestern Institute of Physics, China National Nuclear Corporation

Zhang Long, Deputy Director of the Fusion Science Division at the Southwestern Institute of Physics under China National Nuclear Corporation, noted that magnetic confinement tokamak is currently recognized internationally as the most mature and promising technological route to achieve commercialization of fusion energy. At present, approximately 50% of fusion devices worldwide are tokamak devices, with the Asia-Pacific region hosting 51 experimental devices and 5 planned fusion reactors. China has put into operation more than 10 various fusion devices, including tokamaks, stellarators, and field-reversed configurations, establishing a solid research foundation.

"China's magnetic confinement fusion research started in the 1950s, progressing through principle exploration, device research, and large-scale experimental phases, and is now gradually entering the burning experiment and experimental reactor phases."Zhang Long stated: "We will continue collaborative research in ignition physics, materials science, and engineering support systems, striving for further breakthroughs in critical core technologies."