First concrete has been poured for the nuclear island of unit 1 at Phase I of the Xuwei nuclear power project in China’s Jiangsu province. The plant will supply both industrial heating and electricity by coupling a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor with two Hualong One pressurised water reactors.
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) plans to build two 1208 MWe (net) Hualong One units and one 660 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) unit at the site in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. The project will be equipped with a steam heat exchange station, which will adopt the heat-to-electricity operation mode for the first time. China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) describes the project as the “world’s first dual-coupling demonstration project combining a third-generation nuclear PWR and a fourth-generation nuclear HTGR”.
Once the project is completed and put into operation, it will supply 32.5 million tonnes of industrial steam annually, with a maximum power generation of more than 11.5 billion kilowatt-hours, which can reduce the use of standard coal by 7.26 million tonnes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 19.6 million tonnes each year.