Reactor offers rich opportunities

Building and operating a nuclear plant in a European country by a Chinese company may have sounded unimaginable a few years ago. But now nuclear reactors are about to be built using China's third-generation Hualong One reactor in the United Kingdom, and this is just the beginning.

In addition to the UK's Bradwell project consisting of two of China's homegrown Hualong One reactors, each with an output of 1.15 gigawatts, the first nuclear project in a developed market using a Chinese reactor, countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, Turkey, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic have shown an interest in the technology.

"After some 30 years of learning and innovation, China has mastered the independent design and manufacturing of third-generation nuclear power facilities, and has shifted from being a novice to a pioneer in the nuclear sector worldwide," said Yu Peigen, deputy general manager of China National Nuclear Corp, one of the country's largest nuclear companies.