The reactor vessel internals of Fuqing Unit 5, the first HPR1000 demonstration project owned by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), completed inspection and acceptance checks on March 15.

Fuqing Unit 5, developed and designed by CNNC’s Nuclear Power Institute of China and manufactured by Shanghai No 1 Machine Tool Co, made its formal debut in the domestic nuclear power sector and in the crucial equipment manufacturing sector. 

It will effectively guarantee the construction process of the first HPR1000 reactor, laying a solid foundation for the technology to be exported across the world.

The vessel internals are critical equipment in a nuclear reactor. In the HPR1000, they meet the most stringent nuclear power regulations and standards both at home and abroad, with independent intellectual property rights.

As typical equipment with third-generation nuclear power technology, HPR1000’s internals have a “double-backing” function: When a serious accident occurs, the vessel internals can effectively keep the reactor core in place and prevent a reactor meltdown. Therefore, elimination of the leakage of radioactive materials from pressure vessels significantly reduces the impact on the natural environment after a nuclear accident.