The first of two units at China’s much-watched high-temperature gas-cooled modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project was successfully connected to the grid on Dec. 20. The achievement marks a major milestone for fourth-generation advanced nuclear technology.
Grid-connection of Unit 1 at the “national project” at the Shidao Bay site (Figure 2) in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, will be soon followed by Unit 2. When commercially operational as expected in mid-2022, the two HTR-PMs will drive a single 210-MWe steam turbine. Construction of the pioneering project began in December 2012, led by China Huaneng (which holds a 47.5% stake in the demonstration), along with China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) subsidiary China Nuclear Engineering Corp. (CNEC, 32.5%), and Tsinghua University’s Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology (20%).
