CGN and CSIC Achieved Strategic Cooperation to Develop Offshore SMR Demonstration Project

On January 25, 2016, under the witness of He Yu, Chairman of China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and Hu Wenming，Chairman of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), on behalf of the two sides, CGN’s Deputy General Manager Tan Jiansheng signed a strategic cooperation agreement on the offshore nuclear power platform with his CSIC’s counterpart Qian Jianping.

During talks before the agreement, He Yu introduced the latest progress of CGN’s domestic nuclear business, “going global” of HPR1000, development of new energy, R&D of ACPR50S, etc., wishing that the two sides could focus on the offshore nuclear power platform project, enhance cooperation in various fields including wind power, concentrated solar power, and thereby achieve mutual benefits.

Hu Wenming also introduced the latest development of CSIC and believed that CGN and CSIC have strong cooperative complementarity. He hopes that the two sides could give priority to offshore SMR demonstration project and strengthen communication, expand cooperation in the fields of renewable clean energy such as nuclear power, wind power and solar energy to achieve common development.

On December 30, 2015, the development of ACPR50S reactor design had been approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRS) as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan for innovative energy technologies, and transformation of HHP25 from the military industry to civil use proposed by CSIC was also identified as the major energy innovation project.

The 200 MWt (60 MWe) ACPR50S has been developed for the supply of electricity, heat and desalination and could be used on islands or in coastal areas, or for offshore oil and gas exploration. Construction of the first floating reactor is expected to start next year, with electricity generation to begin in 2020. In addition, CGN the first floating reactor is expectarch, which can be deployed in large industrial parks, remote mountain regions and other areas.

CSIC has also made obvious progress in the field of offshore nuclear power platforms. It’s reported that 719th Research Institute of CSIC has established two technological programs on marine nuclear power platform, namely floating nuclear power plant which is built on a floating platform, and submersible nuclear power plant which is allowed to be submerged in the sea under severe sea conditions apart from the functions of floating NPPs.

CGN, China’s largest nuclear power corporation, owns 16 units in operation with an installed capacity of 17.09GWe, accounting for 59.8% of the total installed capacity in operation in the Chinese mainland，as well as 12 units under construction with an installed capacity of 14.65GWe, accounting for 50% of the combined installed capacity under construction in the Chinese mainland and 20% of the whole world. As China’s biggest shipping corporation and naval equipment research institute, CSIC concentrates the main force of Chinese shipping research and design, owns advanced design technology and rich experiences of shipping and marine engineering and has strong advantages in energy equipment fields including nuclear power, wind power, hydropower, coal, etc.

Through strategic cooperation, CGN and CSIC would take their own professional advantages in the fields of nuclear technology and ship research design to accelerate application and promotion of the offshore SMR technology into offshore nuclear power platform. On January 14, CGN and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) signed strategic cooperation framework agreement to promote offshore SMR demonstration project and strengthen mutual beneficial cooperation.