China loads fuel at 1st nuclear unit with home-grown reactor

Beijing, September 10 - Neftegaz.RU. Fuel loading started at China's 1st nuclear power unit using Hualong One technology, a domestically developed 3rd-generation reactor design, bringing the unit one step closer to operation.

The loading started at the № 5 nuclear power unit in the city of Fuqing, east China's Fujian Province, according to the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

CNNC said the Hualong One's core design reduces the core power density and improves the design safety level. "In order to ensure the smooth progress of the first nuclear fuel loading of the world's 1st Hualong One reactor, the construction team fully considered the difference in the layout and quantity of the core fuel components of the reactor, carried out the 1st batch of loading exercises, optimised the loading sequence, and ensured that the first reactor was installed," it said.

Hualong One reactors were jointly designed by 2 nuclear power giants, China General Nuclear Power Group and the CNNC, and passed inspection by a national panel in August 2014.

The nuclear power unit, which began construction in 2015, is expected to start operation this year.

The № 1 to № 4 nuclear power units of the Fuqing project were put into commercial operation in September 2017, and have generated a total of 130 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity so far. Compared with power generation with fossil fuels, the four nuclear power units have cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 105.44 million tonnes, according to the CNNC.