Construction of the world’s first commercial small modular reactor project (SMR) will begin on July 13, 2021 in Hainan Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
Construction of a small modular multi-purpose nuclear reactor for ACP100 technology in Changjiang, Hainan Province began on Tuesday.
The Changjiang project was the world’s first commercial modular small reactor on land to reach the construction stage, said its operator China National Nuclear Corp.
The ACP100, also known as the Linglong One, is a small nuclear reactor technology. The 125-megawatt pressurized water reactor (PWR) design makes the system fit for power generation, heating, steam generation or seawater desalination.
When completed, it can produce 1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year and meet the needs of 526,000 households, CNNC said.
An analyst said the project will play a key role in ensuring clean energy supplies to the Hainan Free Trade Port while driving the country’s nuclear innovation and development.
China is already a world leader in small modular reactor technologies.
“Small reactors that have been innovated by China have the advanced features of a passive safety design that can limit leaks in the envelope in major accidents,” said Wei Hanyang, an electricity market analyst with research firm BloombergNEF.
“Because of its small size, the boundary of the Linglong One impact area can be as small as the facility area, providing much greater flexibility and feasibility for installing reactors in populated or industrial parks.”
Linglong One stands for a new type of nuclear reactor that can be operated with a high degree of safety, lower costs and flexibility in terms of power and size.
It can be adapted to power plants in demanding locations. It was the first small modular reactor to pass a safety clearance by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2016.
The small reactor technology has independent intellectual property rights that have been developed by CNNC for more than 10 years, the company said. The technology itself is another major achievement for CNNC, known for its third generation nuclear reactor called the Hualong One.
Popularization and application of the commercial modular small-scale reactors on land can significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption in China and promote energy saving and reduction of CO2 emissions, the company said.
At the end of June there were 51 nuclear power plants in China, 19 of them under construction, including the Changjiang project.
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