The first Hualong One reactor at unit 5 of China’s Fuqing nuclear plant in Fujian Province has officially been connected to the grid. Hualong One is a third-generation pressurized water reactor developed and designed by China National Nuclear Corporation based on more than 30 years of nuclear power research, design, manufacturing, construction, and operation experience, the company said. It has a design life of 60 years and a 177 assembly core design with an 18-month refueling cycle. CNNC said all technical indicators of the unit were in compliance with the design requirements, and the unit was in good condition, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent commercial operation. “This signals that China has broken the monopoly of foreign nuclear power technology and has officially entered the ranks of advanced countries in nuclear power technology,” CNNC noted.
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The power plant’s utilization rate is as high as 90%. The active and passive safety systems, double-layer containment, and other technologies meet the highest international safety standards in terms of safety, according to China National Nuclear Corporation. All the core parts and components were manufactured in China, with a localization rate of over 85%, and are fully capable of mass-production. CNNC said it has united 58 state-owned enterprises, more than 140 private enterprises, and linked more than 5000 enterprises in the industrial supply chain. The project had received more than 700 patents and more than 120 software copyrights.
Additional Hualong One units are currently being built in China. CNNC is constructing another Fuqing 6 unit in Fujian Province that is scheduled to go online in 2021. CNNC is also constructing one unit (the first of two) at Taipingling in Guangdong and two at Zhangzhou in Fujian province. China General Nuclear is building two at its Fangchenggang site in Guangxi province. In addition, two Hualong One units are under construction at Karachi in Pakistan, while CGN proposes to use a UK version of the Hualong One at the planned Bradwell site in the UK.
