China nuclear tech goes global

Beijing: A recent co-operative deal between China and Kenya has become an important step for China’s nuclear power technology to go global.

China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) announced that the company had signed a nuclear power training co-operative framework agreement, as well as a confidentiality agreement, with the Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board.

Under the deal, China’s Hualong One reactor, a Gen-III nuclear power reactor design with self-reliant intellectual property rights, is expected to be applied in Africa, reports People’s Daily.

The Hualong One 1000MWe-class pressurised water reactor, developed by CGN and China National Nuclear Corporation, is reported to have reached the highest international safety standards to prevent leakage of radioactive materials and withstand external impacts and earthquakes with magnitudes comparable to that of the quake in Japan’s Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011.

CGN has formed a joint venture with Electricite de France SA to develop the Bradwell nuclear power plant in the UK, as well as to fund and design the reactor.

The British government started an assessment of the reactor design in January, a process expected to take about five years to complete.

Observers say there is a high possibility that the reactor design will pass the UK’s approval process, China Daily reports.

The Generic Design Assessment is a very strict nuclear power assessment, and passing it will further facilitate the export of Chinese nuclear power technology.

CGN has signed MoUs or letters of intent on nuclear power co-operation with over 20 foreign companies and government departments.

Other countries, such as Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey and Kazakhstan, have also shown interest in the Hualong One reactor. — China Daily/Asia News Network