China's third generation nuclear power technology "Hualong 1" will be exported to Argentina.
On February 1, the official wechat of China Nuclear Industry Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as CNNC) said that on that day, Argentine nuclear power company officially signed the design, procurement and construction contract of artucha No. 3 nuclear power plant project in Argentina with CNNC, CNNC China Zhongyuan and CNNC Argentina branch.
According to the EPC contract, CNNC will build a "hualong-1" pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant for Argentina in a "turnkey" mode through EPC, and the project will start before the end of this year.
The "turn key" mode refers to that a multinational company constructs a project for the host country. After the design and construction project is completed, the ownership and management of the project will be completely handed over to the other party according to the contract, and the other party will start operation.
This means that after Pakistan, Argentina has become the second stop for the "hualong-1" to go abroad.
According to the information disclosed by Argentine nuclear power company, the total investment of artucha No. 3 nuclear power plant in Argentina is expected to be US $8 billion (about 50.884 billion yuan).
On May 20, 2021, the first overseas reactor project of "hualong-1" - pakistan karachi nuclear power unit 2 (K-2) officially entered commercial operation, marking that "hualong-1" went abroad and landed in Pakistan.
"Hualong 1" is an advanced million kilowatt pressurized water reactor nuclear power technology jointly developed and designed by CNNC and Cgn Power Co.Ltd(003816) group. It is one of the three generation nuclear motor types with the highest acceptance in the current nuclear power market.
The design life of "Hualong 1" unit is 60 years, the installed capacity of each unit can reach 1.2 million KW, and the annual power generation capacity is nearly 10 billion kwh. Its safety meets the highest international safety standards, all core equipment has been localized, and the localization rate of the first set has reached 88%, which is fully capable of mass construction.
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Argentina. As early as 1985, the Chinese and Arab governments signed the agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. CNNC group takes the lead in promoting the project development with its subsidiary China Zhongyuan Foreign Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Zhongyuan).
Since 2010, CNNC has carried out nuclear energy exchanges with Azerbaijan and signed an agreement of intent on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.
Since 2015, CNNC's overseas market development has accelerated, and Hualong international nuclear power technology company has been established.
In February of that year, the Chinese and Argentine governments signed the agreement on cooperation in the construction of pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants in Argentina.
In November of that year, CNNC and Argentine nuclear power company officially signed the commercial contract of Argentine heavy water reactor nuclear power plant and the framework contract of pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant to cooperate in the construction of the fourth and fifth nuclear power plants in Argentina.
Among them, the fourth nuclear power plant in Argentina, namely the heavy water reactor nuclear power plant of unit 3 of atucha nuclear power plant, adopts the heavy water reactor technology designed by CANDU energy company of Canada. Argentina's fifth nuclear power plant project adopts the "hualong-1" pressurized water reactor technology designed by China.
Heavy water reactor was once the preferred technical route for Argentina's new nuclear power. Argentina now has three nuclear power units in operation, with a total installed capacity of 1.763 million KW, all using heavy water reactor technology. Heavy water reactor is a reactor with heavy water as moderator. It is the second generation nuclear power technology.
CNNC also introduced the heavy water reactor technology of CANDU, Canada, and built two heavy water reactor nuclear power units in Qinshan Phase III. The project was started in June 1998 and fully completed and put into operation in July 2003.
In June 2016, during the G20 energy ministers' meeting, the National Energy Administration of China and the Ministry of energy and mines of Argentina signed the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the construction of Argentine nuclear power plants, which defined the overall objectives of the follow-up work of heavy water reactor and pressurized water reactor projects.
Argentine President marcori said at that time that the construction of the heavy water reactor project would start in 2017 and strive to start the construction of the pressurized water reactor project in 2019.
However, the implementation of the two major projects was affected by the change of regime in Argentina.
In May 2017, during one of the "one belt, one road" International Cooperation Summit Forum, CNNC and Argentina nuclear power company signed the general contract for the construction of fourth and fifth nuclear power plants in Argentina, and clearly set up a 700 thousand KW CANDU-6 heavy water reactor nuclear power plant in 2018. The construction of a million kilowatt "hualong-1" PWR nuclear power unit will be started in 2020.
In June 2021, the Argentine nuclear power company made clear the action plan for nuclear power development and proposed to build "hualong-1" light water reactor technology first, while maintaining the development plan of heavy water reactor.
CNNC is the second largest nuclear power enterprise in China. It is also the only manufacturer, supplier and service provider specializing in nuclear fuel in China. At the same time, it is the only enterprise in China to realize mass export of nuclear power plants.
On May 7, 2015, the first pile of "Hualong 1" was started in Fuqing unit 5; It was officially put into commercial operation on January 30, 2021, marking that China has truly mastered the independent third-generation nuclear power technology after the United States, France, Russia and other countries.
On November 10, 2020, CNNC announced that "hualong-1" had formed a complete independent intellectual property rights and model standard system.
On January 1, 2022, CNNC Fuqing nuclear power unit 6 was successfully connected to the grid for the first time, which is the third "Hualong 1" grid connected generator unit in the world and the second in China.
In addition, "hualong-1" has been built in batches in Zhangzhou, Fujian and Changjiang, Hainan.
