China launches first commercial onshore small reactor project

CNNC International

13/07/2021 03:52

SHANGHAI, July 13 (Reuters) - China has started construction
of the first commercial onshore nuclear project using its
homegrown "Linglong One" small modular reactor (SMR) design, the
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said on Tuesday, about
four years later than planned.
    CNNC originally aimed to start building the project at the
Changjiang nuclear reactor complex on the island province of
Hainan in 2017, but it has been subject to regulatory delays.
    The "Linglong One", also known as the ACP100, was the first
SMR to be approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency in
2016. Each unit has power generating capacity of 125 megawatts
(MW).  
    It was designed to complement the state-run CNNC's larger
third-generation 1,170-MW "Hualong One" reactors, which China is
planning to roll out rapidly at home and promote overseas.  
    SMRs are cheaper and quicker to build than traditional
reactors, and can also be deployed in remote regions and on
ships and aircraft. Their "modular" format means they can be
shipped by container from the factory and installed relatively
quickly on any proposed site.  
    China has been looking into using small reactors to provide
urban heating in the north and run desalination facilities along
the coast. It is also using them to support construction
activities in disputed parts of the South China Sea.        
      

 (Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Stephen Coates)
 ((david.stanway@thomsonreuters.com; +86 21 2083 0066;))