4th-gen nuclear plant, world’s 1st, begins commercial operations in China

ISTANBUL

China put to commercial use on Wednesday the world’s first fourth-generation nuclear power plant, state media reported.

Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant went into commercial operation, China’s National Energy Administration and China Huaneng Group said.

The project was announced in January 2006 and after 10 years of construction and commissioning, the plant was connected to the national grid in December 2021.

It uses helium as a coolant and graphite moderator and the plant is located in the eastern province of Shandong on the Yellow Sea.

According to the World Nuclear News website, the Shidaowan nuclear plant features two small reactors each of 250 megawatts thermal.

It is owned by a consortium led by China Huaneng (47.5%), with China National Nuclear Corporation subsidiary China Nuclear Engineering Corporation (32.5%) and Tsinghua University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology (20%), which is the research and development leader, it added.

Hua Quan, chairman of the Nuclear Research Institute of the Huaneng company, said: “High-temperature reactors could in the future provide a source of high-quality high-temperature process heat for various industries, in particular those that are required to limit their carbon emissions.”