COUNTRY PAVILLIONS | WNE2025 China: Creating a giant nuclear fleet
With nearly 60 reactors under construction, China is soon set to overtake the USA as the nation with world’s largest installed fleet of nuclear power plants. Alongside its push to develop nuclear capacity, China is also driving the development of indigenous nuclear technologies
Kazakhstan. CNNC had previously secured the contract to lead construction of Kazakhstan’s second NPP. China has a clear ambition
Above: The world’s fi rst demonstration project of China’s indigenous Hualong One Gen III nuclear technology is located at the Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant
With 58 operable reactors, China already has an installed nuclear generating capacity of close to 57 GW. With a further 33 reactors under construction, according to WNA, an additional 38 GW of nuclear capacity will come on line over the coming decade and likely even more than that. China has at least a further 43 reactors planned. This is a remarkable development given the country’s first nuclear power plants – Daya Bay near Hong Kong and Shanghai’s Qinshan – only began construction in the 1980s and it wasn’t until the tenth five year plan, covering 2000-2005, that a major drive to expand nuclear power was announced. This plan included the ambition to build eight nuclear plants. The latest construction starts in China took place at
Fangchenggang units 5&6 in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. These two new Hualong One reactor units join Fangchenggang 4, the second Hualong One (HPR1000) PWR demonstration plant that began commercial operations in May 2024. It has a capacity of 1,180 MWe. The first HPR 1000 was built at the Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant and began operations in 2021. This was the world’s first demonstration project of China’s indigenous Hualong One Gen III nuclear technology. Three state-owned corporations own and operate the
country’s nuclear power plants – China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) – together with minority holdings from various commercial companies. CNNC is implementing a “three-step” nuclear energy strategy:
progressing from thermal reactors to fast reactors and ultimately to fusion reactors. CNNC independently developed technologies including the Hualong One, the multi-purpose small modular reactor Linglong One design, the fourth-generation high- temperature gas-cooled reactor, a closed-loop fast reactor nuclear energy system, and the controlled nuclear fusion device HL-3. As the sole Chinese enterprise with full-capability nuclear
technology exports, CNNC has successfully exported seven nuclear power units, seven research reactors, and one subcritical facility to eight countries, including Pakistan and Algeria. In August, for example, CNNC announced that it will lead the construction of the third reactor being developed in
to become a major exporter of its nuclear technology, initially using its CAP1400 reactor and latterly with the Hualong One design. In line with the Belt and Road Initiative, CNNC is devoted to building a global community. The corporation has opened 12 major nuclear research facilities – including China’s HL-3 and Beishan Laboratory – to the international community,
facilitating open collaboration and shared technological advancement. CNNC is also ramping up R&D investment, accelerating digital transformation, and expanding international cooperation. Through the deployment of advanced reactors including Hualong One, Linglong One, and the Shidaowan HTGR plant, CNNC provides customised clean energy solutions supporting global carbon neutrality and a sustainable future. The country’s ambitions to expand its nuclear expertise have
not stopped at Gen 3 designs. In July CNNC announced that it had completed the preliminary design of its fourth-generation CFR-1000 sodium-cooled fast reactor with the aim of beginning operation after 2030. Two 600 MWe (1,500 MWt) demonstration fast reactors developed by the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) are under construction in Xiapu County. Unit 1 began construction in 2017 and unit 2 in 2020. The nation is also exploring fusion and earlier this year began
the final assembly phases of its Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) at the Institute of Energy in the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Centre. BEST, which began construction in 2023, is expected to be completed in 2027. The BEST reactor is designed to achieve real-world energy production, marking a crucial step towards the future Chinese Fusion Engineering Demo Reactor (CFEDR).
Above: Hualong One technology is the foundation of China’s nuclear export ambitions
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