The vessel – weighing about 316 tonnes – is the high strength steel cylinder that will house the reactor core and all associated components, including the reactor vessel internals which support and stabilise the core within the reactor vessel, as well as providing the path for coolant flow and guiding movement of the control rods.
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said the installation of Zhangzhou 3’s reactor pressure vessel “lays a solid foundation for subsequent key construction processes such as main pipeline welding”.
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(Image: CNNC)
China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued construction licences for Zhangzhou units 1 and 2 (both with Hualong One reactors) on 9 October 2019 to CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, the owner of the Zhangzhou nuclear power project, which was created by CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%) in 2011. Construction of Zhangzhou 1 began in October 2019, with that of unit 2 starting in September 2020. Unit 1 entered commercial operation on 1 January 2025 while unit 2 entered commercial operation on 1 January 2026.
In September 2022, China’s State Council approved the construction of two Hualong One units as Phase II – units 3 and 4 – of the Zhangzhou plant. Construction of unit 3 began in February 2024, with that of unit 4 starting in September.
The third and final steam generator was moved into position at Zhangzhou 3 in January this year, with the inner safety dome being installed on the containment building the following month.
There are proposals for two more Hualong One units at the plant. Once fully completed, a six-unit Zhangzhou plant would provide more than 60 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually, estimated to meet 75% of the total electricity consumption of Xiamen and Zhangzhou cities in southern Fujian.
