China’s ACP100 Generation-III demonstration small modular reactor (SMR) has passed a final safety review by the International Atomic Energy Agency, designer and manufacturer China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said. The ACP100 is the first domestically developed SMR to be reviewed by the IAEA and is the first to have passed a safety review by the agency, a statement said. CNNC said the successful review will help accelerate the ACP100 demonstration project and also prove the technology’s worth for the international market.
The ACP100 reactor design has been under development since 2010 and its preliminary design was completed in 2014. It is an integrated pressurized water reactor in which the major components of its primary coolant circuit are installed within the reactor pressure vessel.
According to the IAEA, the ACP100 is a 100MW advanced pressurised water reactor module. Between two and six modules can be integrated and modules can be built at the same time. A single module can supply 310 MWt for the production of 1,000 gigajoules per hour (GJ/h) of heat, 420t per hour of steam, and a maximum seawater desalination production capacity of 120,000t a day.
CNNC announced in January that a demonstration floating NPP (FNPP) based on the ACP100 will be built by 2019. CNNC said its Nuclear Power Institute of China (NPIC) subsidiary had completed the preliminary design for the FNPP as well as "all the scientific research work". Construction of a demonstration unit is to start by the end of this year. According to CNNC, The FNPP could provide electrical power to offshore oil and gas drilling platforms, as well as help in the development of islands and remote areas.
