China Nuclear News Weekly Roundup – 12/10 - 12/14

Taishan Unit 1 Begins Commercial Operation

On the afternoon of December 13th, Taishan Unit 1, the world’s first EPR unit, fulfilled the 168-hour demonstration operation period and all relevant requirements, thus formally beginning commercial operation. With a rated output of 1.75 MWe, it is now also the largest nuclear power unit in the world. Previously, the Gen III French design was connected to the grid on June 29th and was reported to reach full power operation in Q3 2018.

Progress of NPPs Under Construction:

Fuqing Unit 6’s RPV was installed on December 10th.

Tianwan Unit 5’s moisture separator reheater (MSR) was shipped to the site from Guangzhou on the same day.

CNNC Invests HKD 1.5 Billion in Taihai Manoir

Taihai Manoir Nuclear Equipment Company has released an announcement, stating that its parent company, Taihai Group, signed a capital investment agreement with CNNC, on December 10th, whereby CNNC will invest HKD 1.5 billion through its subsidiary in HK. CNNC will hold 48.19% of Taihai Manoir’s shares.

CIAE Signs MOU & Cooperation Agreement with PSI & CERN Respectively

On December 6th and 7th, CNNC President Yu Jianfeng and CIAE President Wang Delin visited Switzerland. During the trip, the Chinese delegates went to the Paul Scherre Institute (PSI) and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The CIAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the PSI and an ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) Cooperation Implementation Agreement with CERN.