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Stephen Chen

A top mainland research institute is developing the world’s smallest ­nuclear power plant, which could fit inside a shipping container and might be installed on an island in the disputed South China Sea within five years.
Researchers are carrying out intensive work on the unit – dubbed the hedianbao, or “portable nuclear battery pack”.
Although the small, lead-cooled reactor could be placed ­inside a shipping container ­measuring about 6.1 metres long and 2.6 metres high, it would be able to generate 10 megawatts of heat, which, if converted into ­electricity, would be enough to power some 50,000 households.

It is also capable of running for years or even decades without ­refuelling, and scientists say that because it produces neither dust nor smoke, even on a small island a resident would hardly notice its existence.
The research is partially funded by the People’s Liberation Army.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology, a national research institute in Hefei, Anhui province, say they hope to be able to ship the first unit within five years.
China’s nuclear plant makers seek new markets along the ancient Silk Road into Asia, Europe, Africa and Middle East
“Part of our funding came from the military, but we hope – and it’s our ultimate goal – that the technology will eventually benefit civilian users,” Professor Huang Qunying,a nuclear scientist ­involved in the research, said.
The Chinese researchers admit their technology is similar to a compact lead-cooled thermal reactor that was used by the navy of the former Soviet Union in its nuclear submarines in the 1970s.
However, China would probably be the first nation to use such military technology on land.
While these “baby” reactors would able to generate large quantities of electricity and desalinate huge supplies of seawater for use as fresh water, they have also attracted serious environmental concerns.

If any one of them were to ­suffer a catastrophic problem, the ­radioactive waste would affect not only the countries nearby, but also spread around the world via the region’s strong sea currents.
This type of reactor is often known as a fast reactor, as it uses high-speed neutrons to split the fuel atoms. A fast reactor has some significant advantages over ­normal reactors. The fast neurons can split the atoms of nearly all ­fissile materials, including the waste left over by traditional thermal power plants, thus dramatically increasing fuel efficiency.
Also, the lead-based liquid metal the reactor uses as a cooling system does not boil until it reaches a temperature of 1,400 degrees Celsius, which makes the reactor safer than any existing thermal one in commercial operation today.
Technician shortage in China ‘threatens nuclear plant safety’
However, Huang said it would still be a challenge to convince people that the technology was safe to use. A lack of public awareness about the new technology could hinder its widespread application, he added.
The lead-cooled reactor is part of China’s efforts to develop new-generation reactors for its rapidly expanding nuclear energy sector. Other technological approaches, such as molten salt reactors and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, are also under rapid development thanks to generous government funding.
China also has been considering building small floating power plants using conventional technology to generate electricity for the South China Sea islands.
Harnessing the ocean: China’s military looks to wave farms to power radar on remote islands as South China Sea disputes simmer
A marine environment ­researcher at the Ocean University of China, in Qingdao, Shandong province, has warned that the inevitable ­discharge of hot, radioactive water from a nuclear plant into the ocean might alter the ecological system of an entire region around an island.
“Many fish and marine creatures will not be able to deal with the dramatic change of environment caused by massive desalination and the rise of sea temperatures caused by a nuclear reactor,” said the researcher, who declined to be named.
“If a nuclear disaster happened in the South China Sea, it would not have an immediate effect on people living on the mainland owing to it being a great distance away,” the researcher said.
“But the radioactive waste would enter the bodies of fish and other marine creatures and likely end up on our dining tables. Sea currents could also carry the waste to distant shores,” she said.
Before putting any nuclear power plant on a remote South China Sea island, the Chinese government should consider not only its political, military or economic benefits, but also carry out comprehensive scientific evaluations on its potential environmental impact, the researcher said.


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South China Sea

Could China build the world’s smallest nuclear power plant and send it to the South China Sea?

Nuclear plant under development could fit into a shipping container and make a small island economically viable

CLEAR model at display at an exhibition in April 2016

A model of the reactor on display in April. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Technician shortage in China ‘threatens nuclear plant safety’

The Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station at Dongping Harbour, about 200km west of Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station. 06FEB94

China’s nuclear plant makers seek new markets along the ancient Silk Road into Asia, Europe, Africa and Middle East

<p>‘One belt, one road’ policy for financing and support for infrastructure projects is helping nuclear plant constructors expand into overseas markets</p>

Two men throw stones toward the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on March 12, 2016, exactly five years after an explosion occurred at the No. 1 reactor building of the plant, in protest against the Japanese government's push for nuclear power. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

China is embarking on an ambitious nuclear power plant building programme to help meet growth in demand for electricity. Photo: David Wong

Harnessing the ocean: China’s military looks to wave farms to power radar on remote islands as South China Sea disputes simmer

epa04712851 A handout picture made available by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Affairs Office on 20 April 2015 shows construction at Mabini (Johnson) Reef in the disputed Spratley Islands in the south China Sea by China on 18 February 2015. Just before the opening of the Balikatan 2015 joint Philippines and US military exercises, Philippine military chief General Gregorio Pio Catapang showed the latest aerial photos of the expansive reclamation and building being done by China in at least seven disputed territories. The Philippines has alleged that China causes economic losses of at least 100 million dollars annually due to its reclamation activities, which have destroyed an estimated 120 hectares of coral reef systems in the Spratlys islands group. EPA/ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Construction work is shown at Mabini (Johnson) Reef in the disputed Spratley Islands in the South China Sea in this February 2015 file photo. China is engaged in a series of territorial disputes with its neighbours in these waters, and is now turning to the ocean to help meet its energy needs. Photo: EPA

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Nuclear plant under development could fit into a shipping container and make a small island economically viable


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Could China build the world’s smallest nuclear power plant and send it to the South China Sea?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Nuclear plant under development could fit into a shipping container and make a small island economically viable

Nuclear plant under development could fit into a shipping container and make a small island economically viable