Chinese nuclear firms eye UK market

Receiving this safety review recognition from IAEA puts ACP1000 on a level playing field with other third-generation nuclear technology globally, and adds to its credibility in the export process.

The ACP1000 forms the core technology of the Hualong One, a third-generation nuclear reactor design jointly developed by CNNC and the China General Nuclear Power Group. Hualong One was created last year in a government initiative as part of a coherent nuclear technology policy in China, and also for export purposes.

Talks about Chinese nuclear firms investing in the UK started with the Hinkley Point C project, led by Electricite de France SA. EDF is a major electrical producer largely owned by the French government.

While this project was already in advanced stages of planning, a major development occurred in 2013 when the British energy firm Centrica decided to withdraw its 20 percent stake from the project due to escalating cost estimates and delays.

To plug the funding gap, EDF opened negotiations with Chinese nuclear firms. Last year, EDF announced its intention to take on board China General Nuclear Power Group and CNNC as equity partners for Hinkley Point C, which already had an established supply chain using French technology. But EDF also said it would support the Chinese companies on another nuclear project using indigenous Chinese technology.

In a statement to China Daily, EDF says it has built a good relationship with CGN and CNNC through 30 years of partnership in China's domestic market, including a joint venture involving EDF Group and CGN using European pressurized reactor units, a third-generation technology, at Taishan in China's Guangdong province.

"The UK will benefit from this longstanding cooperation and the extensive and proven capability of CGN and CNNC in the construction and operation of nuclear plants," EDF says.

Charlotte Morgan, infrastructure partner at global firm Linklaters, says infrastructure projects in the UK are attractive to Asian investors because of their long-term revenue opportunities given political and regulatory stability.

She says the UK government has introduced a new regulatory regime, known as electricity market reform, to attract investment in nuclear projects.