Poured! "Chilong One"!

On November 6, the world's first large-scale coupling project between nuclear energy and the petrochemical industry achieved another important milestone: the first batch of concrete was poured for the nuclear island of the world's first commercial “Chilong One” high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. This is a major breakthrough in China's comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy, and an important practice of CNNC working with all parties to thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's new energy security strategy of “Four Revolutions and One Cooperation,” promote energy transition with new quality productive forces, and create a new calling card for China's nuclear energy.

The Jiangsu Xuwei Nuclear Heating and Power Plant is the world's first large-scale coupling project between nuclear energy and the petrochemical industry, the world's first coupling project between a pressurized water reactor and a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, the world's first application project of the “reactor-turbine-heat” coordinated control mode, and the world's first commercial application project of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. It is invested in and controlled by China National Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (stock code: 601985), a subsidiary of CNNC.

The project is a nuclear power plant primarily dedicated to industrial heat supply while also accommodating power generation. It adopts a combination of China's third-generation nuclear power technology “Hualong One” pressurized water reactor and fourth-generation nuclear power technology “Chilong One” high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, both with fully independent intellectual property rights. Through the “Hualong One” main steam heating demineralized water to produce saturated steam, and then using the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor main steam to reheat the saturated steam, three types of high-quality industrial steam with different parameters are produced to meet the industrial steam demand of the petrochemical park. After completion, under design conditions, it will simultaneously have high-quality steam supply capacity and power generation capacity.

Phase I of the project plans to construct two “Hualong One” units and one “Chilong One” unit. With the commencement of concrete pouring for the nuclear island of the Unit 3 high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, project construction is proceeding in an orderly manner as planned. The first “Hualong One” unit of Phase I commenced construction on January 16, 2026, making it the first nuclear power unit to start construction in China in the opening year of the “15th Five-Year Plan.” After Phase I is completed and put into operation, it will supply 32.5 million tons of industrial steam annually, with maximum power generation exceeding 11.5 billion kWh, and can reduce standard coal consumption by 7.26 million tons per year and carbon dioxide emissions by 19.6 million tons per year, providing large-scale high-quality low-carbon industrial steam to the trillion-level petrochemical industrial base in Lianyungang.

Advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is China's solemn commitment to the international community and an inherent requirement for achieving sustainable development. As foundational industries, the petrochemical and chemical industries bear the important responsibility of supporting national economic development. Nuclear steam supply, i.e., using heat from nuclear power plants to supply industrial steam, is a new pathway to meet the steam demand of the petrochemical industry while reducing comprehensive energy consumption and mitigating environmental pollution.

“Chilong One” is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology brand jointly developed by CNNC and Tsinghua University. It is a fourth-generation advanced nuclear energy technology independently developed by Tsinghua University with fully independent intellectual property rights, and a core strategic member of CNNC's “Dragon” series brand matrix. China's high-temperature gas-cooled reactor construction has received policy support from the National “863” Program, National Science and Technology Major Projects, and others, achieving leapfrog development. In 2003, the 10 MW high-temperature gas-cooled experimental reactor was connected to the grid for power generation; in 2023, the world's first pebble-bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant demonstration project entered commercial operation, marking that China has systematically mastered all technologies of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. High-temperature gas-cooled reactors have advantages including inherent safety, environmental friendliness, and modular construction capability, and can be used for efficient green power generation, supply of high-temperature process heat, large-scale nuclear hydrogen production, etc., with broad application prospects. From experimental reactor and demonstration project to the commercial promotion of the Xuwei project, China's fourth-generation nuclear energy technology is accelerating toward large-scale industrial application. The commercial application of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors not only provides large-scale high-quality heat sources for the petrochemical industry, but also drives China's nuclear energy from being primarily power-generation-oriented toward diversified supply, and will provide a replicable “Chinese Solution” for the green transition of global energy-intensive industries.