China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has held a kick-off meeting for the first phase of the Xuwei nuclear power project in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. The project, located near CNNC’s Tainwan NPP, will supply both industrial heating and electricity by combining a Generation IV high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) with two third-generation Hualong One pressurised water reactors.
The meeting was given a development overview and project status report by CNNC subsidiary Suneng Nuclear Power Company, which is the owner of the Xuwei project and responsible for investment, construction and operation management.
Xuwei Phase I was approved by China’s State Council in August 2024. Phase I involves the construction of two 1208 MWe Hualong One PWR units and one 660 MWe HTGR unit, complemented by a steam heat exchange station. It will pioneer a heat-led power operation concept, where Hualong One primary steam first heats demineralised water to produce saturated steam, which is then superheated by HTGR primary steam. The facility is designed to provide high quality steam and generate electricity within its operating specifications.
Once completed, the Xuwei project will provide a substantial amount of high-quality, low-carbon industrial steam to the trillion-yuan Lianyungang petrochemical industry base. CNNC said it will supply 32.5m tonnes of industrial steam a year, with a maximum power generation of more than 11.5 TWh, which can reduce the use of standard coal by 7.26m tonnes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 19.6m tonnes each year.
In August, CNNC said the project had been included in the national plan and had undergone a comprehensive safety assessment review. “At present, the project site is steadily and orderly advancing various preparatory work before the start of construction,” it noted.
The kick-off meeting was attended by representatives of CNNC, CNNC Finance Company, CNNC Jiangsu Energy and Jiangsu Nuclear Power, as well as relevant leaders of banks and financial institutions, including China Development Bank, China Export-Import Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China Postal Savings Bank, China Merchants Bank, and China CITIC Bank. The attendees agreed to “further leverage the advantages of financial institutions to unswervingly provide continuous and reliable financing support and high-quality financial services for the Xuwei project”, CNNC reported.
