Reactor pressure vessel hydraulic testing has been completed at China’s ACP100 (Linglong One) small modular reactor (SMR) demonstration project at the Changjiang NPP in the island province of Hainan. China National Nuclear Corporation said that the tests were witnessed by the National Nuclear Safety Administration, Hainan Nuclear Power Co Ltd, China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute and China First Heavy Machinery Co Ltd.
Linglong One is the world's first onshore commercial SMR demonstration project with independent intellectual property rights designed and purchased by the Nuclear Power Institute. CNNC announced the launch of the SMR project at Changjiang in 2019. It had been under development since 2010 and the ACP100 preliminary design was completed in 2014. The major components of integrated pressurised water reactor’s (PWR’s) primary coolant circuit are installed within the reactor pressure vessel. In 2016, the design became the first SMR to pass a safety review by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The site already has two operating CNP600 PWRs and construction of the two Hualong One units began in March and December last year for commercial operation by the end of 2026.
Image: Installation of the upper containment cylinder of Linglong One (courtesy of CNNC)
