Harbin Engineering University Establishes Research Institute for Spent Fuel Reprocessing and Advanced Materials

On August 31, the inauguration ceremony of the Research Institute for Spent Fuel Reprocessing and Advanced Materials at Harbin Engineering University was held at the university's Qihang Activity Center. More than 150 participants attended the meeting, including academicians and experts in the field of nuclear science and technology, representatives from industry and enterprises, peer institutions, and alumni.

The newly established institute will address the needs of nuclear energy safety assurance and sustainable development by integrating the university's advantageous disciplinary resources in nuclear science, materials, and chemical engineering, focusing on breakthroughs in spent fuel reprocessing processes, advanced materials development, and related key core technologies, while promoting the coordinated development of basic research, technological breakthroughs, and commercialization of research outcomes.

At the meeting, several attending experts stated that spent fuel reprocessing is an important link in the nuclear fuel cycle system, bearing on the long-term safe, efficient, and sustainable utilization of nuclear energy. With the development of the nuclear energy industry, the demand for high-level talents in fields such as nuclear chemical engineering, nuclear fuel cycle, and advanced separation materials continues to grow, and collaborative training and joint research efforts among universities, research institutes, and industrial enterprises need to be further strengthened.

During the meeting, Harbin Engineering University signed industry-education integration co-construction cooperation agreements with China Nuclear Seventh Research and Design Institute Co., Ltd., the Eighth Research Institute of Nuclear Industry, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., Zhuhai Mike Investment Holding Co., Ltd., and other organizations. The university also held a ceremony to present university badges to student representatives of the Leading Class for Spent Fuel Reprocessing. This class is the nation's first integrated bachelor-to-doctoral program in spent fuel reprocessing, adopting a "3+1+X" training model that leverages research projects, specialized courses, and engineering practice to build an integrated education chain of "classroom study—on-site practice—project research."

Following the inauguration ceremony, the university held an advisory meeting on the institute's development, inviting experts in the field of spent fuel reprocessing to offer suggestions on the institute's construction direction, research layout, and talent cultivation. At a parallel symposium held during the same period, attending experts exchanged views on topics including nuclear fuel cycle technology, aqueous reprocessing of spent fuel, carbonate-based reprocessing technology, dry storage of spent fuel in closed fuel cycles, application of porous materials in radionuclide removal, and precise identification and efficient separation of radionuclides.

The "Nuclear Chemical Engineering and Nuclear Fuel Engineering" program at Harbin Engineering University is the only national first-class undergraduate program in the field of nuclear chemical engineering in China. The university stated that the institute will build a high-level teaching and research platform centered on spent fuel reprocessing and advanced materials, serving major nuclear industry projects and the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents in the field of nuclear chemical engineering.