Installation of the reactor internals has begun at China’s ACP100 small modular reactor (SMR) demonstration project (also known as Linglong One) at the Chanjiang NPP on the island province of Hainan. The multi-purpose 125 MWe SMR is a pressurised water reactor designed for electricity generation, urban heating, urban cooling, industrial steam production, or seawater desalination.
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said installation of the hanging basket assembly containing the lower part of the internals marked the official start of the installation of the internal components of the world’s first Linglong One reactor.
These are the main structures inside the reactor vessel that perform functions, such as supporting the core, maintaining fuel alignment, directing the flow of primary coolant, providing radiation protection for the reactor vessel and guiding in-core instrumentation devices.
CNNC began development of the Linglong One in 2010, and it was the first SMR project to pass an independent safety assessment by International Atomic Energy Agency experts in 2016. Its integrated pressurised water reactor (PWR) design was completed in 2014 and it was identified as a key project in China’s 12th Five-Year Plan. The design, which has 57 fuel assemblies and integral steam generators, was developed from the larger ACP1000 PWR. It incorporates passive safety features and could be installed underground.
CNNC formally launched the project in 2019 and China’s state council approved the ACP100 Science & Technology Demonstration Project in 2021 and first concrete was poured in July that year. The lower section of the containment shell of was hoisted into place in February 2022 and the last tank of concrete for the nuclear island’s underground retaining walls was poured the following August. The outer dome was installed in February 2024. Once completed, the project will produce enough power to meet the needs of 526,000 households, CNNC said.
The ACP100 is a joint venture of three major companies: China National Nuclear Power (a subsidiary of CNNC) as owner-operator; China Institute of Nuclear Energy as reactor developer; and China Nuclear Power Engineering Group, which is responsible for construction of the station.
