China Civilian Nuclear Industry, Technology, Exports and Supply Chain: News & Discussions

[JSCh]

Iter fusion project passes construction milestone
11 December 2017

Construction of the Iter fusion reactor, being built at Cadarache in the south of France, is now 50% complete, the Iter Organisation has announced. The reactor - construction of which began in 2010 - is scheduled to achieve first plasma in 2025.

The Iter construction site, pictured in October 2017 (Image: Iter)

The organisation said: "According to the stringent metrics that measure project performance, 50% of the 'total construction work scope through First Plasma' is now complete."

It said that almost 53% of construction activities (on the Iter site at Cadarache) and manufacturing activities for components and systems needed for first plasma have been completed. "The performance metrics used in Iter assign a relative weight to every activity category within the project," the organisation said. "Design, for instance, accounts for 24%; buildings construction and manufacturing for 48%; assembly and installation for 20%."

"After having compounded the percentage of completion of each category, the metrics produce a figure for the totality of the work scope through the launch of operations ('first plasma')." Design, which accounts for approximately 25% of the scope, is now close to 95% complete; manufacturing and building, which represents almost half of the total activities is close to 53% complete.

Iter Director-General Bernard Bigot said the passing of the 50% milestone reflects "the collective contribution and commitment of Iter's seven members".

Iter, which stands for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, is a major international project to build a 500MW tokamak fusion device (requiring an input of 50MW) designed to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy.

The European Union is contributing almost half of the cost of its construction, while the other six members (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the USA) are contributing equally to the rest. Under a revised schedule established by the Iter organisation last year, first plasma is planned for 2025, with deuterium-tritium fusion experiments commencing in 2035. Construction costs are expected to be around €20 billion ($22 billion), with components contributed by the Iter members on an 'in-kind' basis.

Iter's specialised components - some 10 million parts in total - are being manufactured in industrial facilities all over the world. They are subsequently shipped to the Iter worksite, where they must be assembled, piece-by-piece, into the final machine.


http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Iter-fusion-project-passes-construction-milestone-1112175.html

 

[cirr]

Indigenously developed hybrid fusion-fission reactor entering key stage

自主研发聚变裂变混合堆进入关键阶段

2017-12-13 06:37:44　

来源: 科技日报 作者: 盛利

科技日报成都12月12日电 （记者盛利）记者12日从中国工程物理研究院核物理与化学研究所获悉，我国自主研发设计的聚变裂变混合堆项目，已完成了混合堆总体概念设计及Z箍缩聚变堆芯、次临界能源包层等概念设计，正进入实验堆的关键技术研究阶段。

可实现聚变、裂变、造钚和造氚等核反应相互支持的聚变裂变混合反应堆，具有安全可靠、资源持久、环境友好、防止核扩散等特点，由于其在铀循环利用中，可将资源利用率提高到90%以上，也被誉为“千年能源”。

在国防科工局核能开发项目支持下，目前该所混合堆团队已完成了混合堆总体概念设计，及Z箍缩聚变堆芯、次临界能源包层和燃料循环等主要分系统的概念设计，并于今年通过国防科工局组织的项目现场验收，技术指标体系全面满足预定要求。在该项目攻关期间，研究团队已在“局部整体点火”聚变靶及与之配套的负载、靶设计、靶室设计、次临界包层设计、重频LTD、干法后处理、余氚回收等方面取得了一系列技术突破，先后获授权发明专利15项。

研究团队负责人李正宏研究员表示，在上述成果基础上，聚变裂变混合反应堆正进入一个新的阶段——Z箍缩驱动聚变裂变混合实验堆关键技术研究阶段，未来团队将逐步建立综合研究平台，对涉及的物理、技术、材料和工程问题进行系统研究、开发与验证，以逐步形成Z箍缩聚变裂变混合堆工程化应用的成套技术，“为聚变能源技术尽早大规模服务于人类经济社会创造条件。”

李正宏说，该项目研发将有利于我国惯性约束聚变能源科学、技术与工程体系的构建，促进Z箍缩直接驱动—整体点火等重大科技创新概念的完善，推动高增益聚变燃烧物理、高功率脉冲技术、高峰值功率次临界堆、复杂体系氚“自持”循环等一批尖端科技的发展。

@Bussard Ramjet

 

[JSCh]

中国聚变工程实验堆开始工程设计：完成人类终极能源
发表于 2017-12-6 04:58

据中新网12月5日报道，“中国聚变工程实验堆集成工程设计研究”(CPETR集成工程设计研究)项目启动会5日在合肥举行，会上宣布中国聚变工程实验堆(CFETR)正式开始工程设计，中国核聚变研究由此开启新征程。

聚变能源被认为是最有希望彻底解决能源问题的根本出路之一。以实现聚变能源为目标的CFETR是中国聚变能研发必不可少的一环，直接瞄准未来聚变能的开发和应用，将建成世界首个聚变实验电站。

中国科学家在国际热核聚变实验堆(ITER)建设的同时已经开始规划建设CFETR,它将是中国自主设计和研制、以我为主联合国际合作的重大科学工程。

中国于2006年正式加入ITER，这期间，中国科学家以参加国际热核聚变实验堆(ITER)为契机，在全面消化关键技术基础上，自主建设创新，开展高水平科学研究。中国核聚变事业在近五年里取得了一系列重要成就和突破。

CFETR集成工程设计研究将进一步加强国内ITER计划相关的聚变能源技术研究和创新，以未来建聚变堆所涉及的国际前沿科学和技术目标为努力方向，发展聚变能源开发和应用的关键技术，为CFETR建设奠定坚实科学基础，大力提升中国聚变能发展研究的自主创新能力。

与会专家认为，“CFETR集成工程设计研究”项目的实施，将推动CFETR项目走向世界核聚变舞台的中央，并成为代表国家参与全球科技竞争与合作的重要力量，使中国跨入世界聚变能研究开发先进行列，对解决能源危机问题具有重要意义。

启动会上，中国工程院院士李建刚介绍了中国聚变工程实验堆(CFETR)科学目标、现状和总体工作计划。

CFETR计划分三步走，完成“中国聚变梦”。第一阶段到2021年，CFETR开始立项建设；第二阶段到2035年，计划建成聚变工程实验堆，开始大规模科学实验；第三阶段到2050年，聚变工程实验堆实验成功，建设聚变商业示范堆，完成人类终极能源。

Chinese cities vie to harness the energy that powers the sun
Central government backs plan to build world’s first experimental nuclear fusion power station

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 26 December, 2017, 9:05pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 26 December, 2017, 11:33pm

Stephen Chen

At least three Chinese cities are vying to host the world’s first experimental nuclear fusion power station after the country’s government threw its weight behind the ambitious project this month.

Chinese scientists have been working on the conceptual design of the project, which offers the prospect of an almost unlimited supply of energy, since at least 2013, but the central government’s imprimatur has now taken it on to the next stage – drawing up the engineering blueprints.

Shanghai, mainland China’s financial hub, has been joined by Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, in the race to win the lucrative project, which, according to some estimates, could cost more than 100 billion yuan (US$15.2 billion).

Nuclear scientist predicts China could be using fusion power in 50 years

With completion scheduled for 2035, the reactor would heat hydrogen gas to a temperature 10 times as hot as the core of the sun. At such temperatures, atoms of deuterium and tritium, two isotopes of hydrogen, merge to form helium. A small bit of mass would be lost, creating a huge amount of energy.

Fusion, the same process that has kept the sun burning for the past 5 billion years, is regarded as the ultimate solution to humanity’s energy needs. Hydrogen is plentiful in Earth’s oceans, and, unlike today’s uranium-fuelled nuclear power plants, a fusion reactor would produce no radioactive waste.

On December 6, a day after the central government announced it was backing the project, Shanghai’s Communist Party secretary, Li Qiang, and the city’s mayor, Ying Yong, led a delegation to China’s largest nuclear fusion research device, in Hefei, to discuss “matters of cooperation”, scientists working at the facility told the South China Morning Post.

A researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Plasma Physics, which is based in Hefei, said Shanghai, home to a large pool of scientific talent, hoped to host the project.

“The city sits by the sea, with lots of water which can be used to dissipate the heat generated by the reactor,” said the researcher, who asked not to be named. “Personally, I’d like to see the project built by the coast, but it is not a prerequisite. The reactor could also be built in an inland area next to a lake or reservoir.”

Officials in Hefei, supported by Anhui’s provincial government, have told local media they mount an “all out” effort to have the reactor built in the city, already home to the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, which has set records for the longest lasting plasma – the extremely hot gas in which fusion takes place.

China team heralds fusion breakthrough as step towards new energy future

Research facilities in Sichuan, in southwestern China, played key design and production roles in China’s nuclear weapons programme, and Chengdu’s bid is backed by the military and China’s powerful nuclear industry.

The province is already home to several experimental tokamak devices and Chengdu argues that its researchers have more experience in building sophisticated, unconventional reactors than those elsewhere in China.

Yang Qingwei, a Chengdu-based nuclear physicist leading the engineering design of the fusion reactor, told the Post several cities were competing for the project.

“There is no consensus yet, nor any decision,” Yang, a researcher at the China National Nuclear Corporation’s Southwestern Institute of Physics, said, declining to reveal the names of candidate locations.

Xiao Jun, a nuclear scientist studying fusion at the Institute of Modern Physics at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the cities were attracted by the potential benefits of building what was likely to become the world’s first fusion power plant.

“The temptation is almost irresistible,” he said.

Major nations have been striving to make nuclear fusion a reality for more than half a century, with the tokamak, invented by Soviet physicists in the 1950s, the most popular experimental reactor design. It uses superconductive coils to generate a powerful magnetic field capable of containing the plasma in a doughnut-shaped chamber.

China one step closer to harnessing clean, limitless energy from nuclear fusion

The United States also tried another approach, known as inertial confinement, at its National Ignition Facility in California. It aims to use lasers to achieve fusion, but has proved more difficult than originally thought, and the US Department of Energy admitted last year that the US$3.5 billion facility might never reach its goal.

With strong financial backing from the Chinese government, Chinese researchers have extended their fusion research lead over the US in recent years, setting records for the longest lasting, most stable plasma and developing new technologies and materials in state-of-the-art laboratories.

The planned Chinese fusion reactor will rely heavily on the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction in southern France, but is aiming for a much more ambitious goal.

ITER, which has attracted investment totalling €22 billion (US$26.1 billion) from the European Union and countries including China, the US and Russia, is the most expensive scientific facility ever built. But it is only aiming for a fusion burn lasting about 10 minutes, while the researchers working on the Chinese reactor hope to achieve one lasting months.

Tang Jun, a fusion scientist at Sichuan University’s Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology in Chengdu, said achieving the goal would require the development of many technologies, instruments and materials that did not exist today.

New dawn: Chinese scientists move step closer to creating ‘artificial sun’ in quest for limitless energy via nuclear fusion

For instance, the reactor’s inner wall would have to be made of super strong alloys to withstand the heat and bombardment of high-energy particles, the plasma would need to be tightly and precisely controlled to prevent destructive energy spikes and the electric coils would have to be bathed in a large volume of super-cold liquid to maintain their superconductivity, otherwise the magnetic field would disappear.

“This project will draw research talent from other cities in China and all over the world,” Tang said. “It could turn a city to one of the most vibrant innovation centres on the planet.”

According to a timeline posted on the website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences this month, the design work will take a couple of years, with construction starting in 2021.

But Lei Yian, an associate professor at Peking University’s school of physics who was previously involved in fusion energy research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US, said the cities in race should realise it was a high-risk endeavour.

“I doubt the facility can be up and running in 20 years,” he said.

Fusion projects around the world have encountered unexpected technical challenges that have led to serious delays. The ITER project, for instance, was scheduled for completion 10 years ago, but that has been postponed to the mid-2020s according to even the most optimistic estimate.

How China hopes to solve nuclear waste issue with hybrid fusion-fission reactor at top secret facility

While China could learn lessons from ITER, and Chinese engineers and workers had a reputation for meeting deadlines, Lei said they would face huge technical obstacles to reach the targeted burning time.

“The cities must consider the risk that the project turns into a money pit,” he said, adding there were also environmental concerns.

When fusion starts, a large number of fast-flying neutrons are generated, which can not only damage the reactor’s components but also pose a threat to the wider world.

“If some of the neutrons escape to the environment outside, even at a small percentage such as one in a thousand, they will pose a serious threat to people living and working nearby,” Lei said.



Chinese cities vie to harness the energy that powers the sun | South China Morning Post

 

[JSCh]

China begins building pilot fast reactor
29 December 2017

Construction of China's 600 MWe demonstration fast reactor at Xiapu, Fujian province, has officially begun with the pouring of the first concrete for the reactor's basemat. The reactor is scheduled to begin commercial operation by 2023.

​

Construction gets under way of the CFR-600 at Xiapu (Image: CNNC)

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced today that civil nuclear construction had begun on the "landmark project for the development of China's nuclear industry".

Earlier this month, China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Co Ltd signed the construction contract for installation of the nuclear island of the Xiapu fast reactor pilot project, following a tender process.

At a ceremony to mark the start of construction, CNNC chairman Wang Shoujun described the project as a major national nuclear science and technology project. He said it is of great significance for realising the closed nuclear fuel cycle, promoting the sustainable development of nuclear energy in China and promoting the development of the local economy.

Fast neutron reactors (FNRs) are seen as the main reactor technology for China, and CNNC expects the FNR to become predominant by mid-century. The country's research and development on fast neutron reactors started in 1964.

A 65 MWt fast neutron reactor - the Chinese Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) - near Beijing achieved criticality in July 2010, and was grid-connected a year later.

Based on this, a 600 MWe design - the CFR-600 - was developed by the China Institute of Atomic Energy. The Xiapu reactor will be a demonstration of that sodium-cooled pool-type fast reactor design. This will have an output of 1500 MW thermal power and 600 MW electric power. The reactor will use mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel with 100 GWd/t burnup, and will feature two coolant loops producing steam at 480°C. Later fuel will be metal with burnup of 100-120 GWd/t. The reactor will have active and passive shutdown systems and passive decay heat removal.

A commercial-scale unit - the CFR1000 - will have a capacity of 1000-1200 MWe. Subject to a 2020 decision to proceed, construction could start in December 2028, with operation from about 2034. That design will use metal fuel and 120-150 GWd/t burnup.


http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-China-begins-building-pilot-fast-reactor-2912174.html

 

[Han Patriot]

China begins building pilot fast reactor
29 December 2017

Construction of China's 600 MWe demonstration fast reactor at Xiapu, Fujian province, has officially begun with the pouring of the first concrete for the reactor's basemat. The reactor is scheduled to begin commercial operation by 2023.

​

Construction gets under way of the CFR-600 at Xiapu (Image: CNNC)

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced today that civil nuclear construction had begun on the "landmark project for the development of China's nuclear industry".

Earlier this month, China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Co Ltd signed the construction contract for installation of the nuclear island of the Xiapu fast reactor pilot project, following a tender process.

At a ceremony to mark the start of construction, CNNC chairman Wang Shoujun described the project as a major national nuclear science and technology project. He said it is of great significance for realising the closed nuclear fuel cycle, promoting the sustainable development of nuclear energy in China and promoting the development of the local economy.

Fast neutron reactors (FNRs) are seen as the main reactor technology for China, and CNNC expects the FNR to become predominant by mid-century. The country's research and development on fast neutron reactors started in 1964.

A 65 MWt fast neutron reactor - the Chinese Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) - near Beijing achieved criticality in July 2010, and was grid-connected a year later.

Based on this, a 600 MWe design - the CFR-600 - was developed by the China Institute of Atomic Energy. The Xiapu reactor will be a demonstration of that sodium-cooled pool-type fast reactor design. This will have an output of 1500 MW thermal power and 600 MW electric power. The reactor will use mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel with 100 GWd/t burnup, and will feature two coolant loops producing steam at 480°C. Later fuel will be metal with burnup of 100-120 GWd/t. The reactor will have active and passive shutdown systems and passive decay heat removal.

A commercial-scale unit - the CFR1000 - will have a capacity of 1000-1200 MWe. Subject to a 2020 decision to proceed, construction could start in December 2028, with operation from about 2034. That design will use metal fuel and 120-150 GWd/t burnup.


http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-China-begins-building-pilot-fast-reactor-2912174.html

Once this is commissioned, the Indian have nothing else to brag, since this is the only technology they are ahead. We are ahead from A to Z except for this. They had French Rhapsodie design since the 60s and we only started our fast reactor effort in the 2000s.

 

[JSCh]

Fuel loading underway at Tianwan 3
22 August 2017

Fuel loading has begun at unit 3 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province, Russian state nuclear company Rosatom has announced. The Russian-supplied VVER-1000 is scheduled to enter commercial operation next year.

Tianwan units 1 to 3 (Image: Rosatom)​

The first of 163 fuel assemblies was loaded into the core of the VVER-1000 reactor on 18 August. Rosatom said once all the assemblies have been loaded, start up and commissioning work will be carried out. The reactor will then be brought to the "minimum controllable power level", followed by the start of power generation.

Andrey Lebedev, vice-president for projects in South Asia for ASE Group, said the "physical start up of the unit has been started ahead of schedule". He noted that the unit is expected to be connected to the grid by the end of 2017. Commercial operation of Tianwan 3 is planned for 2018.

China National Nuclear Corporation's (CNNC's) Tianwan 3 and 4 are AES-91 VVER-1000 units designed by Gidropress and supplied by Rosatom.

AtomStroyExport is the main contractor, supplying the nuclear island. First concrete for unit 3 was poured in December 2012, while construction of unit 4 began in September 2013.

Two similar VVER-1000 reactors (units 1 and 2) began operating at the site in 2007.

The State Council gave its approval for Tianwan units 5 and 6 - both featuring Chinese-designed 1080 MWe ACPR1000 reactors - on 16 December 2015. First safety-related concrete was poured for unit 5 later that month and for unit 6 in September 2016. Unit 5 is expected to enter commercial operation in December 2020 and unit 6 in October 2021.

The Tianwan plant is owned and operated by Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, a joint venture between CNNC (50%), China Power Investment Corporation (30%) and Jiangsu Guoxin Group (20%).


http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Fuel-loading-underway-at-Tianwan-3-2208174.html

Completion of Power start-up of Tianwan NPP Unit №3 (China)
30 December, 2017 / 17:33
Source: Press Service of ASE Group

The power start-up of Unit 3 of Tianwan NPP was completed on30 of December 2017 at13.:29. Tianwan NPP (TNPP) is being built in China based on a Russian VVER-1000 design. The second stage of TNPP’s construction (including that of Unit 3) was undertaken with the ASE Group (Rosatom engineering division). Unit 3 provided the first KW to China’s grid.

Upon permission from the Chinese regulator, the reactor unit of power unit №3 was turned on at 25% of its capacity, after which the turbine was brought into operation and electrical tests of the field and power delivery systems were carried out. Power unit №3 was, thereby, connected to the grid. All systems performed in normal operational mode.

“The power start-up of the third unit of the Tianwan NPP is an event of worldwide importance and the next stage in strengthening Russian-Chinese cooperation. Construction of the third and fourth power units of the Tianwan NPP are being implemented in record-breaking time and can be considered examples of excellent international cooperation in the energy field. We wholeheartedly welcome our Chinese partners’ initiatives in developing peaceful nuclear technologies and will be happy to provide support in the implementation of new projects,” said Kirill Komarov, ROSATOM’s First Deputy Director General for Corporate Development and International Business.

The next step will involve resting the reactor at a power level of 200 MW. After that, dynamic tests will be carried out at 50%, 75% and 100% of full capacity. Upon successful completion of initial testing at 100% thermal capacity, demonstration testing will proceed at nominal capacity for 100 hours, after which preliminary acceptance procedures will ensue. Preliminary acceptance is the starting point of a two-year warranty period for the operation of the third power unit of China’s Tianwan NPP.

“The third power unit’s start-up is being carried out five years after the start of construction,” said ASE Group President Valery Limarenko, adding that the construction of the third and fourth power units was going ahead of schedule. “Today, we witness the most important event in the construction of the second stage of the Tianwan NPP – the start-up of power unit №3. TNPP is one of the Russia’s and China’s best projects. It gives us the right to talk about the start of the mass implementation of Rosatom projects and confirms the leading position held by Russian technology in the global NPP construction market. The first two units of the Tianwan NPP, which were built by Rosatom in cooperation with our Chinese colleagues, have already proven their effectiveness and safety. We are sure that the units built during the second stage of Tianwan NPP construction will work just as efficiently and reliably.”

For reference:

Tianwan NPP is constructed on the base of the Russian design AES-91 project with VVER-1000 reactor that is fully compliant with the requirements of modern regulatory and technical documentation of the Russian Federation, China and IAEA. The construction of Tianwan NPP is performed by Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation (JNPC) jointly with Russian company Atomstroyexport, which is referred to АSE Group. Tianwan NPP is the largest object of the Russian-Chinese economic cooperation. The start-up of the power units №1 and №2 of Tianwan NPP took place in 2007. Every year power units №1 and №2 of Tianwan NPP generate more than 15 bln kW/hour of electric power. The commencement of commercial operation of power unit №3 of Tianwan NPP is planned for 2018. Cooperation on the construction of power units №3 and №4 of Tianwan NPP is being performed under the Protocol between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on cooperation in the construction of power units №3 and №4 of Tianwan NPP in China, signed on 6th of December 2012.​

Completion of Power start-up of Tianwan NPP Unit №3 (China) | Rosatom

 

[JSCh]

First HTR-PM vessel head in place
04 January 2018

The pressure vessel head has been installed at one of the two high-temperature gas-cooled reactor units that make up the demonstration HTR-PM plant under construction at Shidaowan in China's Shandong province.

The HTR-PM vessel head (Image: CNI23)​

The pressure vessel head was installed on unit 2 on 27 December, China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Company Limited (CNI23) announced. In an operation lasting about 1 hour and 35 minutes, the 80-tonne component was attached to the pressure vessel with 76 bolts.

"This is the first installation of the pressure vessel cover of the world's first Gen IV reactor, indicating that the internal installation of the reactor pressure vessel has been completed before the closure," CNI23 noted.

Work began on the demonstration HTR-PM unit - which features two small reactors and a turbine - at China Huaneng's Shidaowan site in December 2012. China Huaneng is the lead organisation in the consortium to build the demonstration units together with China Nuclear Engineering Corporation (CNEC) and Tsinghua University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, which is the research and development leader. Chinergy, a joint venture of Tsinghua and CNEC, is the main contractor for the nuclear island.

The demonstration plant's twin HTR-PM reactors will drive a single 210 MWe turbine.

The pressure vessel of the first reactor was installed within the unit's containment building in March 2016. The vessel - about 25 metres in height and weighing about 700 tonnes - was manufactured by Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Equipment. The second reactor pressure vessel was installed later that year.

The first of the graphite moderator spheres was loaded within the core of the first reactor in April last year. In July, the thermal hydraulic parameters of the steam generator were validated. The demonstration HTR-PM is expected to be connected to the grid and start electricity generation this year.


http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-First-HTR-PM-vessel-head-in-place-0401185.html

 

[cirr]

Chinese researchers make breakthrough in study of nuclear technology: report

2018-01-07 08:58

Xinhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

Chinese researchers have developed the world's top high intensity neutron generator, a breakthrough in the study of nuclear technology, the Science and Technology Daily reported.

The generator, developed by researchers at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, is a vital platform for studying the application of nuclear power and nuclear technology, according to the report.

The achievement has been published by the International Journal of Energy Research, the report said.

The neutron energy spectrum generated by the equipment can faithfully reproduce the complex neutron environment in advanced nuclear power systems, the report said.

The generator is therefore important for studying neutron physics and advanced nuclear technology, as well as developing new nuclear power systems, according to the report.

http://www.ecns.cn/2018/01-07/287301.shtml

 

[JSCh]

Steam generators in place at Hualong One unit
08 January 2018

The third and final steam generator has been installed at the demonstration Hualong One reactor being constructed as unit 5 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province. The reactor is expected to start up next year.

Installation of the third steam generator at Fuqing 5 (Image: CNNC)

The steam generator - weighing 365 tonnes and over 21 metres in length - was yesterday hoisted onto a horizontal gantry platform some 16.5 metres above the ground, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced. The component was subsequently moved into reactor's containment building through the main equipment transportation channel. Once there, it was lifted into the vertical position using a specially designed tool and put in place.

The first steam generator was installed at Fuqing 5 on 10 November. The second was put in place on 24 December, the same day that CNNC announced the welding of the main pipework of the unit had officially started.

Steam generators are used in pressurised water reactors (PWRs) to transfer heat from the reactor coolant into water in a secondary circuit, producing the steam used to power the electricity-generating turbines. Each steam generator contains thousands of kilometres of tubes through which hot water flows.

The ZH-65-type steam generators were independently designed by the China Nuclear Power Institute and manufactured by Dongfang Electric.

In November 2014, CNNC announced that the fifth and sixth units at Fuqing will use the domestically-developed Hualong One PWR design, marking its first deployment. The company had previously expected to use the ACP1000 design for those units, but plans were revised in line with a re-organisation of the Chinese nuclear industry. China's State Council gave final approval for construction of Fuqing units 5 and 6 in mid-April 2015.

The pouring of first concrete for Fuqing 5 began in May 2015, marking the official start of construction of the unit. Construction of unit 6 began in December 2015. The dome of unit 5 was installed on the containment building in May last year. Fuqing 5 and 6 are scheduled to be completed in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Construction of two Hualong One units is also under way at China General Nuclear's Fangchenggang plant in Guangxi province. Those units are also expected to start up in 2019 and 2020, respectively.


http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Steam-generators-in-place-at-Hualong-One-unit-0801184.html

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[JSCh]

Chinese plant produces AP1000 reload assemblies
08 January 2018

China's first AP1000 fuel production line has now produced 64 sets of fuel assemblies ready for the first reloading of the Sanmen AP1000 units. Both Sanmen AP1000s are scheduled to begin operating later this year.

The Chinese-made AP1000 fuel assemblies (Image: CNNC)​

"The specifications of the components met the technical requirements and provide guarantee for the subsequent safe and stable operation of the Sanmen nuclear power plant," China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said today.

Westinghouse is providing the first cores and some re-loads for the four AP1000s under construction at Sanmen and Haiyang. However, China's goal of self-sufficiency in nuclear fuel supply means it wants to manufacture as much as possible in future.

In a $35 million deal announced in January 2011, Westinghouse agreed to "design, manufacture and install fuel fabrication equipment" for CNNC subsidiary China North Nuclear Fuel, with the aim of supplying subsequent fuel for the Sanmen and Haiyang units as well as the country's future fleet of AP1000s.

Construction of the AP1000 fuel line - which has the capacity to produce 400 tonnes per year - at the Baotou fuel fabrication facility in Inner Mongolia began in March 2012. Qualification of the production line was completed in October 2016. Ahead of full production, two sets of dummy fuel assemblies were made to verify the production process.

Westinghouse issued the production line with the qualification certificate on 19 January 2017 and the plant was formally put into production on 16 June. The first domestically fabricated AP1000 fuel assembly came off the production line on 14 July.

On 14 January 2017, China North Nuclear Fuel signed a refueling package procurement contract with the Sanmen plant. Under the contract, the production line will supply batches of fuel assemblies for the second, third and fourth fuel cycles of Sanmen units 1 and 2.

Sanmen 1 is expected to be the first Westinghouse AP1000 to begin operating later this year, with Sanmen 2 also set to start up in 2018.


http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/UF-Chinese-plant-produces-AP1000-reload-assemblies-0801175.html

 

[JSCh]

First Hualong One reactor unit gets its dome
By Fang Tian (People's Daily Online) 14:31, January 12, 2018



The world’s first Hualong One nuclear reactor has been completed in south China’s Fujian province after the installation of its dome-shaped containment structure, chinanews.com reported on Thursday.

The 70.48-meter pilot nuclear reactor, codenamed “No. 5 Reactor Unit,” in the nuclear power plant in Fuqing, Fujian, uses Hualong One technology, a domestically developed third-generation reactor design.

It took 17 hours to finish the containment structure, which consists of a main body and a dome. Sealing the dome marked important progress, a person in charge of the construction said.

Fuqing has plans to build six pressurized water reactor units with megawatt capacity. Units 1-4, using second-generation technology, have been finished and started commercial operations. Construction on Units 5-6, which use the self-developed third-generation Hualong One design, started in 2015.

China has the largest proportion of nuclear power units under construction, and the country is expected to be the world’s second most number of nuclear units in 2020, according to its national plan.

 

[JSCh]

From CNNC weibo,

1月17日17时17分，“华龙一号”全球首堆示范工程福清核电5号机组反应堆压力容器顺利引入16.5米平台。
At 17:17 on January 17, "Hualong One" world's first demonstration project Fuqing Nuclear Power Unit 5 reactor pressure vessel successfully introduced into 16.5-meter platform.

 

[xyxmt]

Investment in China is getting over-saturated. Investment already makes up the biggest proportion of our GDP by far, and has done so for most of the past decade.

That's why we have to invest outwards as well, otherwise our massive reserves will be left sitting in treasuries and bonds, not earning anything.

Though as long as we are getting a decent return on the assets we buy then it's not a problem.

Priority targets for Chinese investment should be Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America.

This is what I said over a year ago, the reason for Chinese investments in CPEC and one of the Chinese member got so upset

 

[JSCh]

A peek at China's own 3rd-gen nuclear power tech
By Gao Yun
2018-01-17 21:28 GMT+8

China's self-developed third-generation nuclear reactor, namely the "Hualong One", is being delivered to a power plant in southeast China's Fujian Province. The core part of the tech, the container of nuclear fuel, began installation on Wednesday and is expected to be finished by the end of this month.

This marks the installation phase of the world’s first Hualong One unit, also known as the no. 5 unit in Fuqing.

The Hualong One reactor pressure vessel /Xinhua Photo​

The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is the only irreplaceable key equipment in a nuclear power plant.

Designed by the Nuclear Power Institute of China (NPIC) and manufactured by China First Heavy Industries (CFHI), the 400-ton pressure vessel adopted a new reactor-core structure design, which will prolong its projected lifetime from 40 to 60 years. Security has also been increased with a higher seismic performance requirement.

It was completed and successfully delivered on August 20, 2017, in northeast China’s Dalian City after about four years’ construction, showing China’s capability to design and manufacture the third-generation nuclear equipment.

The containment dome of the reactor was installed in May 2017.

The dome for the fifth reactor at Fuqing /Photo via China National Nuclear Corporation​

The Hualong One technology is a pressurized water reactor design that is used in homegrown third-generation reactors. It is China’s only domestically-developed third-generation nuclear technology that has so far gone international.

The technology increases the reactor’s safety performance and “can even withstand a tsunami of the strength that triggered Japan's Fukushima disaster," said Xue Junfeng, vice chief engineer of the Hualong One reactors in an interview in 2016.

There are now six units with Hualong One technology under construction: the no. 5 and 6 units of China National Nuclear Corporation, the no. 3 and 4 units of China General Nuclear Power Group, and the K2 and K3 units in Pakistan – the first overseas project that Hualong One has been part of.

 

[JSCh]

Nuclear giant ramps up mining of uranium in Namibia
By Zheng Xin | China Daily | Updated: 2018-01-24 11:01

The Namibian Husab Uranium Mine operated by China's State-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp had produced over 1,000 metric tons of uranium oxide in 2017.

The Husab mine, the third-largest uranium mine, will continue to be optimized in 2018. The company will ramp up its throughput to ensure the mine reaches its design capacity by this year, said Huang Xiaofei, a spokesman for CGN.

The company said the mine will produce 6,500 tons of uranium oxide within a few years.

The mine's optimization is part of CGN's efforts to expand its uranium supply chain for domestic and worldwide civil projects; it has put together agreements in most of the world's uranium-producing countries, including Namibia, Kazakhstan, Australia and Canada.

Industry insiders believe Chinese corporations have the potential to become major global players in the nuclear sector and it is strategically important for China to secure fuel resources, given its ambitious nuclear power generation expansion plans.

Joseph Jacobelli, a senior analyst of Asian utilities and infrastructure at Bloomberg Intelligence in Hong Kong, said the Namibian deal and other similar deals are very important for China in energy security concerns.

"China's nuclear power generators' need for uranium resources will rise exponentially in the mid to long term, given the sharp rise in nuclear reactors in the nation," he said.

"The installed capacity could increase tenfold between 2016-50, namely to 303-347 GW by 2050 from 34 GW in 2016, accounting for almost 18 percent of output from about 4 percent."

The mine produced the first drum of uranium oxide on Dec 30, 2016.

CGN announced last May that it would increase its nuclear fuel supply, including uranium mining, nuclear fuel pellets and nuclear fuel fabrication, catering to rising demand for its civil power plant projects.

According to Huang, CGN has for years maintained double-digital growth, with total assets increasing 22.1 percent year-on-year to reach 635.2 billion yuan ($99.2 billion) last year. The company's sales revenue and profits rose 29.3 percent and 15.3 percent annually respectively in 2017.

Electricity generated by clean energy from CGN increased 20 percent to 211.9 billion kilowatt hours in 2017, the equivalent of 66.13 million tons of standard coal, thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 160 million tons, and nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions each by 320,000 tons, it said.

Huang also added that some 86.7 percent of core equipment for the Fangchenggang Phase II power station in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been undertaken by domestic companies, including reactor pressure vessels and steam turbine generator units.

CGN signed an agreement with France's EDF Energy in 2016 to jointly invest in three nuclear power plants, of which Bradwell in Britain will use the HPR1000 design, the first nuclear power plant to be built in a developed economy using a Chinese design.

The Fangchenggang project will be the reference plant for the proposed Bradwell B plant.