China. World’s first fourth-generation nuclear reactor begins operation

The world’s first fourth-generation nuclear power plant began commercial operation today at Shidao Bay in east China’s Shandong province, Chinese state media reported.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the high-temperature nuclear power plant is now generating electricity for commercial use after successfully completing a 168-hour continuous operation test.

The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said the move marked a “historic achievement” for the Asian country’s science and technology projects, which were carried out with “completely independent intellectual property rights”.

The plant, jointly developed by Huaneng Energy Company, Tsinghua University and CNNC, began construction in December 2012 and was connected to the grid for the first time in December 2021.

The plant has an installed capacity of 200 MW and uses high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors (HTGR), which are internationally recognized as an advanced fourth-generation type with “intrinsic safety,” said Zhang Zuoyi, the project’s chief engineer.

“Without any intervention, the reactor will be in a safe state if it loses all cooling capacity, and there will be no major meltdown or leakage of radioactive material,” he added.

China’s first fully developed nuclear reactor, Hualong-1, began commercial operation in January 2022 at the Fuqing power station in southeast China.

China has set a target of increasing nuclear power generation capacity by 50% by 2025 and producing 100,000 to 200,000 tons of hydrogen from renewable energy in the same year.

These objectives are part of the Chinese government’s plans to achieve carbon dioxide emission neutrality by 2060.

Nuclear power and hydrogen are two clean, renewable energy sources that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.