The alliance was launched on 11 December in Beijing with the goal of “building a strategic community with shared goals, responsibilities, benefits, and values, marking a key milestone in the industrialisation and collaborative innovation of China’s fourth-generation nuclear energy technology”.
It is to focus on research and design, fuel manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, construction, installation and commissioning, operation and maintenance, and overseas markets.
According to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC): “By pooling industry strengths, the alliance aims to advance High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) technology from single-purpose power generation toward diversified applications such as heating and hydrogen production. Priority will be given to breakthroughs in areas including petrochemical coupling and nuclear-based hydrogen production, accelerating the development of a ‘nuclear+’ zero-carbon integrated energy system. These efforts will provide HTGR-based solutions for China’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, supporting green energy transition and industrial upgrading.”
In September, a contract was awarded for the construction of the conventional islands of the three reactors – including a 660 MWe HTGR reactor – that will comprise the first phase of the Xuwei nuclear power project in China. The plant will supply both industrial heating and electricity by coupling a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor with two pressurised water reactors. In 2023 the High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor – Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM) in Shidao Bay (also known as Shidaowan) in China entered commercial operation.
In its announcement about the alliance’s launch, CNNC said: “China has now fully mastered the complete HTGR technology chain – from design and manufacturing to construction, commissioning, operation, and fuel cycle – along with all core intellectual property rights, achieving a transition from a follower to a global leader in this sector”.
