By Prof. G. Lohnert
This year the fifth International biannual Conference on High-Temperature Reactors [HTRs] was held in the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic on September 18 to 20.
Many scientists, engineers, industry managers, politicians and journalists from around the globe gathered for three days in Prague to take notice of the latest developments in the domain of modular HTRs. It is well known that this type of nuclear reactors is the most promising design among the six reactors - the so called GENERATION IV reactors [GEN IV] - chosen some years ago by international experts and many governments to be developed for the future. This is due to its proven inherent safety features and its viability to compete even now with conventional energy sources.
In many parallel sessions the latest results of world-wide R&D developments in physics, thermal hydraulics, materials, fuel-design, components, reactor application, safety issues and reactor designs were presented and were very often hotly debated.
In the opening ceremony of this important nuclear conference Professor Zhang Zuoyi, director of Tsinghua University's 'Institute of Nuclear and new Energy Technology' [INET] was the keynote speaker.
The audience, coming from all corners of the world (28 countries), listened in dead silence when Prof Zhang Zuoyi justified China's plan for the HTR for the future and when he explained the details of INET's reactor design, its components and the planned verification tests to be carried out at Tsinghua's Changpin research area, before the components are ready to be installed into the reactor plant.
In an impressive power-point presentation he demonstrated that all needed reactor components are already far advanced and are currently manufactured mostly in special companies all over China. The shown large components of e.g. the Reactor Pressure Vessels, the Steam Generators and the Helium Blowers [4 MW!] demonstrated impressively that China has mastered to engineer and manufacture all these modern heavy components in an astonishing short time.
The shown experimental results of INET's fuel elements showed beyond any doubt to everyone that Tsinghua University's fuel fabrication line is second to none.
All components, reactor-designs and plant lay-outs are that far advanced that the chosen power-plant site in Shandong province will see an extremely rapid site-construction as soon as the governmental kick-off will be given in the very near future.
Prof Zhang Zuoyi has shown in his impeccable presentation that China, INET, Chinergy and Tsinghua University have now taken the world lead in the area of inherently safe nuclear power plants.
When after one hour Professor Zhang Zuoyi finished his spectacular presentation the listeners's dead silence and noticeable tension exploded in a roaring applause by the extremely impressed audience.
