Published: December 22nd, 2021,
Last updated: December 22nd, 2021
China has connected a fourth-generation nuclear reactor to the power grid for the first time. This makes the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) at the Shidaowan nuclear power plant in the province of Shandong currently the only one of its kind in commercial operation worldwide. The reactor was developed and built by the state-owned power giants China Huaneng Group and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) together with Beijing Tsinghua University. It consists of two small turbine units with a total capacity of 200 megawatts (MW). The second unit is still under construction and is expected to be brought online in mid-2022, according to China Huaneng Group.