China touts success of its first home-grown nuclear reactor

Hualong One design is meant to be 'Fukushima-proof' to prevent leakages

- Lim Min Zhang

FUJIAN - In a coastal province known for fishery and trade, a grey, dome-topped, reinforced concrete building is the repository of China's growing ambitions to export nuclear power.

The building - strong enough to withstand a commercial plane crash - houses the Hualong One, China's first home-grown, third-generation nuclear reactor, which came online in March 2022.

Known as Unit 5 of the Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant, it is one of two reactors - Units 5 and 6 - that form the demonstration project.

China has joined the US, Japan, France, Russia and South Korea as countries that have developed commercial third-generation reactors since such designs for this clean form of energy began to be deployed in the 1990s. The US and Russia are leading exporters of nuclear reactors.

Third-generation reactors have better safety features, shorter construction times and longer lifespans - typically 60 years - than their earlier counterparts. Second- and third-generation reactors form the majority of nuclear reactors in operation today.

While the Hualong One is not seen as a technological game changer, and building costs have yet to come down significantly, analysts said it could make for a competitive export to developing countries, especially if financing is included.

But geopolitics will still figure strongly in potential customers' considerations, they added. The US has accused China of using reactor sales as a way of fostering energy dependence on Beijing, and has discouraged other countries from these deals.

Still, American-led tech restrictions on China, such as on cutting-edge semiconductors, are often viewed by China as attempts to hold back its development.

On a media trip to Fujian organised by the All-China Journalists Association in late October, Chinese officials spoke of the Hualong One's reliability, safety record and China's construction prowess as its main advantages in the international market.