State-owned Enterprise | CNNC's Digital Transformation Leap

Against the backdrop of the accelerating transformation of the global energy structure, nuclear energy, as an important pillar of the clean energy system, is undergoing a profound transformation from a traditional industrial paradigm to a digital and intelligent one.

 

In Yibin, Sichuan, where the Minjiang and Jinsha Rivers converge to form the mighty Yangtze River, the intelligent factory of China Nuclear Construction Fuel Element Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CNNC Fuel") is located on the alluvial plain where the three rivers meet. The muddy yellow of the Minjiang River and the clear water of the Jinsha River merge here, forming a distinct natural wonder. The data streams from several automated production lines in the factory area, like the three rivers, surge and converge on the industrial internet platform.

 

Black cylindrical uranium dioxide pellets gleam with a metallic luster on the automated production line. These pellets, formed through chemical conversion, pressing, sintering, and grinding, are only 0.8 centimeters in diameter and about 1.4 centimeters high, yet they contain astonishing energy—the energy released by a single pellet is equivalent to the complete combustion of 0.8 tons of standard coal. These pellets are orderly arranged by intelligent devices and precisely loaded into 3.8-meter-long cladding tubes. End caps and springs then position them, thus forming a complete fuel rod. The pulling device of the rod machine inserts 264 fuel rods row by row into a 4-meter-long skeleton, finally producing the CF series fuel elements for "Hualong One" units.

 

 

2000 kilometers away from Yibin, in Haiyang, Shandong, in the "transparent factory" of DCS equipment built by China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute's subsidiary, a national high-tech enterprise, China Nuclear Control System Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CNNC Control"), 700,000 components are being rapidly assembled and tested on the production line of the nuclear power plant's "super brain." Robotic arms precisely install components, industrial robots conduct intelligent inspections in the factory area, and connect to Beijing via a 5G network and dedicated production line.

 

These two production scenarios are a microcosm of CNNC's digital transformation and upgrading. From nuclear fuel elements to DCS systems, the intelligent leap of each production process is a typical practice of Industry 4.0 in the nuclear energy field, and it is also the inevitable path for China's nuclear power industry to achieve a transition from "following" to "leading".

 

Against the backdrop of the accelerating transformation of the global energy structure, nuclear energy, as an important pillar of the clean energy system, is undergoing a profound transformation from a traditional industrial paradigm to a digital and intelligent one. As a leading enterprise in China's nuclear energy industry, CNNC, through systematic digital transformation practices, has not only reshaped its core competitiveness but also provided valuable experience and models for the intelligent upgrading of the entire nuclear energy industry.

 

 

 

From Manufacturing to "Smart" Manufacturing

 

 

The DCS system, or Distributed Control System, is considered the "central nervous system" in the nuclear power field, controlling the operation of hundreds of systems and nearly ten thousand pieces of equipment in a nuclear power plant, as well as various operating conditions. As the only specialized company under CNNC engaged in digital instrumentation and control technology, CNNC Control, since its establishment in 2013, has been tasked with conquering the independent and controllable DCS system for nuclear power plants, resolutely embarking on the arduous journey of independent research and development.

 

According to Wang Dong, head of product R&D at CNNC Control, the safety-grade DCS is the "guardian" of the safe operation of nuclear power plants, capable of achieving reactor safety control under various operating conditions; the non-safety-grade DCS is like a "super brain," ensuring automatic control and monitoring operations during the operation of the unit, and is an important support for the efficient and economical operation of nuclear power plants.

 

For a long time, the DCS systems of China's nuclear power plants were imported from foreign manufacturers. In 2019, the Longfin® non-safety-grade DCS system passed the evaluation, with all indicators reaching internationally advanced levels, achieving a key breakthrough.

 

In August 2023, the safety-grade DCS Longhe® platform passed the review of the National Nuclear Safety Administration. To date, CNNC has two safety-grade DCS platforms—Longlin® and Longhe®. In March 2024, the Longfin® platform achieved its first application in the Linglong One global first-unit demonstration project.

 

With the acceleration of domestic nuclear power project approvals, CNNC's DCS orders are pouring in. However, tight project implementation, short construction periods, and difficult operation and maintenance have become new challenges facing the nuclear power DCS industry. For CNNC Control, digital transformation is imminent.

 

In the traditional manufacturing industry of DCS, there are development bottlenecks such as unavoidable human error and difficult-to-reduce manufacturing costs. However, through the construction of a digital factory and the digital re-creation of the entire process, these problems have been improved: In the design phase, the intelligent platform automatically processes thousands of logic diagrams and assembly drawings, increasing software engineering design efficiency by 50% and reducing the error rate by 20%; in the testing phase, automated testing technology for tens of thousands of test cases increases execution efficiency by 20%, ensuring 100% design review and 100% test coverage, accumulating 400,000 pages of traceable quality records.

 

At Asia's largest pressurized water reactor nuclear fuel element manufacturing base, like CNNC Control, it is also actively participating in the wave of digital transformation.

 

CNNC Fuel was founded in 1965 and has witnessed the development and growth of China's nuclear power industry. In 1990, it provided 300MW first-core fuel elements for the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant Phase I. Later, it mastered the manufacturing technology of the AFA series introduced from France, the VVER series introduced from Russia, and the "Hualong One" CF series fuel elements with independent intellectual property rights in China.

 

CNNC Fuel has grown from nothing to a company with full core supply capabilities. Utilizing big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, CNNC Fuel independently invested in the construction of a digital center and actively broke down information "silos," achieving information-based management of the entire process from production to the end user, including real-time production monitoring, quality supervision, and product inspection and release.

 

 

 

From "Smart" Manufacturing to Soft Power

 

 

Within CNNC, the digital upgrade is not just a transition from manufacturing to "smart" manufacturing, but also a comprehensive enhancement of soft power.

 

Zhang Fan, Party Secretary and Chairman of CNNC Control, said that CNNC Control is expanding into new blue oceans of industrial development. With the completion of the delivery of DCS equipment for projects such as Hualong One and Linglong One, the role of CNNC Control is quietly changing—from an equipment manufacturing company to a specialized company providing full lifecycle services for nuclear power plants. The core engine of this transformation is the industrial internet system "Longbi®" built on the independent DCS platform.

 

"Longbi®" is named after one of the six sons of the dragon, and its image of carrying a heavy stele is similar to "data base + industrial APP." The Longbi® platform is a leading industrial digital platform in China serving the energy and chemical industries, covering industrial control, intelligent manufacturing, operation and maintenance support, and intelligent management, and various professional needs. Through DCS applications, it continuously extracts common capabilities and accumulates them, creating a new "DCS + Industrial Internet" ecosystem, supporting the unified collection, aggregation, processing, and analysis of massive, heterogeneous, and multi-source industrial data, and achieving efficient sharing and service of computing power, algorithms, and data resources.

 

The Longbi® platform, based on the Longfin® and Longhui® platforms, is a nuclear power IoT system that integrates collection, processing, services, and display. It is also an integrated platform based on the attributes and capabilities of the nuclear industry, incorporating advanced technologies such as hyper-convergence, cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence, and presented in the form of industrial APPs. It seamlessly connects with CNNC's own advantageous products, Longfin® and Longhui®, creating a new "DCS + Industrial Internet" ecosystem. It has the capacity to support various industrial APPs and can be used in the future to significantly improve unit operating reliability. CNNC also relies on the dual-drive of "DCS + Industrial Internet" to upgrade its equipment capabilities into digital service capabilities covering the entire nuclear industry chain.

 

 

According to Yu Jiang, General Manager and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of CNNC Construction, providing a stable supply of nuclear fuel for the safe and orderly development of nuclear power is the responsibility and mission of CNNC Construction. In response to the reality of China's nuclear power units entering a period of intensive commissioning, CNNC Construction has scientifically planned and implemented the digital construction of nuclear fuel element production lines according to the overall approach of "unified planning and phased implementation," promoting the in-depth integration and development of new generation information technology and nuclear fuel element production and manufacturing.

 

Digital transformation, as the core driving force of global industrial transformation, is profoundly reshaping the competitive landscape of traditional industries.

 

As the core force of China's nuclear industry, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), with the goal of "building an advanced nuclear science and technology industrial system and creating a world-class nuclear industry group," has built a systematic strategic framework for digital transformation and intelligent development from top-level design; through special plans such as the "AI + Nuclear Energy Three-Year Action Plan," it has clarified the technological path and application scenarios of digital transformation.

 

Undoubtedly, the future nuclear industry will inevitably be a digital and intelligent nuclear industry. Only by continuously deepening the integration of digital technology and industrial practice can we consolidate the national nuclear energy strategic competitive advantage. For CNNC, digital transformation is not merely a technological innovation, but a systematic reconstruction covering management systems, organizational culture, and industrial ecology.