China's nuclear sector on path to going global

Nuclear power sector in China saw major growth this year and this will help the country's nuclear powerhouses go global, said a senior official on Tuesday in Beijing.

Liu Baohua, head of the nuclear power department of China's National Energy Administration, said eight nuclear power units are expected to put into operation in 2015, a record number in history. China is expected to have 30 nuclear reactors in operation by the end of this year.

China saw nuclear power units using the second-generation technology pulling the plug and reactors using the third-generation technology start construction in 2015, a great progress in nuclear power technology upgrade.

Talent training for the nuclear power sector accelerated this year, with about 600 operators being certified, expanding the talent pool to about 2,000 people nationwide, Liu added.

China is well prepared for the nuclear power industry to go global, with its advantages in technology, costs, management, industry chain, international relationship and coordination, said Liu.

China's third-generation nuclear power technology, with Hualong One and CAP1400 as representatives, won recognition worldwide in 2015, spreading its wings in the global market.

According to contracted deals signed this year, Hualong One, China's homegrown third-generation nuclear technology, will be used in the fifth reactor in Argentina and the Bradwell B nuclear power station in Essex, Britain.

The export of the CAP1400 nuclear technology, which is based on the AP1000 reactor technology developed by the United States-based Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, to South Africa and Turkey is in pipeline.

China is likely to win South Africa's new nuclear power station project, said Zheng Mingguang, head of the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute.