According to a report by CCTV.com, reporters learned at the High-Quality Development Conference on the Nuclear Technology Application Industry held on September 7 that, in recent years, with the rapid development of China's nuclear technology application industry, nuclear technology has been widely applied in numerous fields, including safety inspection, irradiation-based breeding, and radiopharmaceutical production. By the end of 2022, the output value of China's nuclear technology applications had approached 700 billion yuan.
　　In recent years, China’s nuclear technology application industry has continuously achieved significant breakthroughs. In the field of people’s health and well-being, a number of domestically developed radiopharmaceuticals have been introduced into clinical practice, ensuring the availability of essential medications in hospitals and playing a crucial role in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer patients. In terms of producing radioactive isotopes through reactor irradiation, China has secured a stable supply of cobalt-60—the most important isotope for industrial use. Cobalt-60 finds applications in non-destructive testing of materials such as steel and light alloys, sterilization of medical devices, and radiation-induced chemical processing, thereby promoting the development of China’s industrial irradiation processing sector.
　　It is understood that by the end of 2022, China’s output value from nuclear technology applications had approached 700 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate exceeding 15%. Among this, industrial applications accounted for over 50% of the total output value, while medical nuclear technology accounted for about 20%, both of which are relatively mature. China’s nuclear technology application sector still has considerable room for development, and its market size is expected to reach one trillion yuan by 2025.