First Tank of Concrete Successfully Poured for the Nuclear Island of Unit 1 at CGN Shandong Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power

On the morning of November 18, CGN Shandong Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power's Unit 1—China's first Hualong One (HPR1000) nuclear power unit with a cooling tower—successfully completed the first tank of concrete pouring (FCD) for its nuclear island, marking a critical milestone and the full-scale commencement of Phase I project construction, and setting a new benchmark for the application of China's domestically developed third-generation nuclear power technology. Feng Jianping, Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group and Director of the East China Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision Station of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the PRC, and Zhang Yihao, Deputy Director of the News Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), attended the FCD launch event. Entrusted by Yang Changli, CPC Secretary and Chairman of China General Nuclear Power Corporation Limited (CGN), Pang Songtao, Deputy CPC Secretary and General Manager of the Group, attended the event and delivered a speech. Cai Zhen, Member of the CPC Leadership Group and Deputy General Manager of the Group, presided over the event.

On behalf of the nuclear safety regulatory authorities, Feng Jianping acknowledged the full-scale commencement of project construction. He pointed out that since the approval of Phase I of Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power in August last year, all work has been steadily advanced with thorough preparations, and Unit 1 has successfully met the conditions for nuclear island FCD, laying a solid foundation for subsequent construction. He emphasized that nuclear safety is an important part of national security and the lifeline of the nuclear power industry. He expressed the hope that all participating entities will always maintain a cautious attitude, advancing project construction to high starting points, high standards, and high quality, jointly implementing the industry consensus of "absolute responsibility, highest standards, system operation, and experience feedback."At the same time, he put forward four requirements: first, we should effectively implement full nuclear safety responsibility, establish a sound responsibility system, strictly comply with national laws and regulations, and proactively accept comprehensive supervision; second, the entities should attach great importance to ecological and environmental protection, strictly implement all prevention measures in accordance with the environmental impact assessment approval requirements, and solidly carry out routine environmental protection work; third, the entities should strengthen experience feedback and problem rectification, enhance peer benchmarking and exchanges, and improve the closed-loop management mechanism for problem rectification; fourth, the entities should make solid preparations for winter construction, strictly implement special construction plans and emergency response plans to ensure safe and steady progress in project construction.

On behalf of the Group, Pang Songtao extended congratulations on the full-scale launch of the project construction, expressed gratitude to relevant national ministries and commissions, Party committees and governments at all levels in Shandong Province for their guidance and support, as well as to partners and frontline builders for their hard work. He pointed out that, as CGN's tenth nuclear power base, the high-quality advancement of the Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Project carries profound significance. It will not only provide strong support for achieving the Group's "14th Five-Year Plan" goals and lay a solid foundation for the opening layout of the "15th Five-Year Plan," but also inject strong momentum into Shandong's accelerated development of a new energy system, contribute CGN's strength to safeguarding national energy security, and help achieve the "dual carbon" goals. He put forward three requirements for the entire construction team: first, the team should raise political awareness, earnestly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and directives on the nuclear power industry and CGN, adhere to the principle of "Safety First, Quality First, Pursuit of Excellence," strictly observe the safety production red line, and ensure nuclear safety without fail. Second, the team should focus on tackling key technologies and advancing digital transformation, innovate nuclear energy comprehensive utilization models, form replicable and promotable technical and management experience, and continuously iterate and improve construction levels. Third, the team should uphold the positioning of "high-standard construction of a century-quality project," deeply integrate into local energy planning, proactively cultivate integrated nuclear–wind–solar–storage clean energy industry clusters and new quality productive forces, and assist Shandong Province in achieving a green, low-carbon energy transition.

Ning Xiaoping, Secretary of the CPC Committee and Chairman of CGN Engineering, stated that as the general contractor, CGN Engineering will take the full-scale launch of the project as the starting point, deepen cooperation among all parties, and make every effort to promote high-quality construction of the project. On behalf of CGN Engineering, he made three commitments: first,  CGN Engineering will strictly uphold the highest standards, following the principle that "today's engineering quality is tomorrow's nuclear safety," and to rely on whole-process management to build a "zero-waste" demonstration project; second, CGN Engineering will leverage Hualong One (HPR1000) construction experience, strengthen lean management and technological innovation, ensuring the project achieves excellence with "balance, smoothness, and stability"; third, CGN Engineering will deepen collaboration, create a "transparent, trust-based, win–win" cooperation ecosystem, and build a multidimensional benchmark project.

Zhou Bo, Secretary of the CPC Committee and Chairman of China Nuclear Industry Huaxing Construction Co., Ltd., stated that CNNC Huaxing will adhere to the principle of "Safety First, Quality First," integrate nuclear safety culture into all construction processes, and build a strong safety and quality defense line to the highest standards; assemble an elite team and advanced equipment with optimal organization, employ scientific planning and meticulous control to ensure progress as per schedule; and work with the strictest requirements in coordination with all parties to create a community of cooperation and mutual benefit, making every effort to complete the civil works for the nuclear island.

At 8:58 a. m., witnessed jointly by leaders and guests on site, Pang Songtao announced the commencement of the first concrete pouring (FCD) for the reactor building of Unit 1 of CGN's Shandong Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Project, officially marking the launch of CGN's first Hualong One (HPR1000) nuclear power base equipped with a cooling tower.

The Shandong Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Project is located in Zhangxing Town, Zhaoyuan City, Yantai, and is planned to construct six Hualong One (HPR1000) nuclear power units. It is a key project for CGN to actively integrate into Shandong's energy development plan and progressively build an integrated nuclear–wind–solar–storage clean energy industry cluster. For the first time, the project applies secondary cycle cooling technology to Hualong One (HPR1000) units. By configuring a 203-meter-high natural draft cooling tower with a spray area of 16,800 square meters, the conventional island's direct cooling source is changed from seawater to air. This setup uses the atmospheric heat sink to dissipate residual heat from the conventional island's thermal cycle, achieving recycling of cooling water. This not only significantly reduces energy consumption and drift rate but also greatly improves cooling source safety. This technological innovation broadens spatial layout options for nuclear energy projects and opens new paths and provides new experiences for China's nuclear power construction. Once fully completed, the project is expected to generate about 50 billion kWh annually, enough to meet the yearly production and living electricity needs of approximately 5 million people, equivalent to reducing standard coal consumption by about 15.27 million tonnes per year and cutting CO₂ emissions by about 46.2 million tonnes per year—environmental benefits comparable to afforesting over 110,000 hectares—thus continuously supporting Shandong's green, low-carbon development.

The event was attended by representatives from relevant units of Shandong Province and Yantai City, representatives from relevant regulatory authorities, responsible persons from the Group and member companies, project partners, participating entities, suppliers, as well as members of the news media.