China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said the generator stator has been installed at the ACP-100 small modular reactor (SMR) demonstration project at the Changjiang NPP in Hainan Province. The multi-purpose 125 MWe SMR (also known as Linglong One) is a pressurised water reactor designed for electricity generation, urban heating, urban cooling, industrial steam production, or seawater desalination.

The ACP-100 generator consists of a stator, rotor, cooler, and two bearing blocks. The 130-tonne generator stator, which is about 6 metres long, has been installed on the base of the generator. CNNC said the main complexity of the lift operation was the small area of the site.

“The generator stator had to be raised with two cranes, carried through the maintenance hole to the steam turbine platform and, finally, installed on the base of the generator, which required extremely high positioning accuracy,” CNNC noted. Installation of the generator stator paves the way for the subsequent installation of the steam turbine generator block.

In July 2019, CNNC announced the launch of the ACP-100 Small Modular Reactor in Changjiang. There are already two active CNP-600 water under pressure (PWR) reactors on the site, and the construction of two Hualong One blocks began in March and December 2021. Both units should be put into commercial operation by the end of 2026.

CNNC began development of the Linglong One in 2010, and it was the first SMR project to pass an independent safety assessment by International Atomic Energy Agency experts in 2016. Its integrated pressurised water reactor (PWR) design was completed in 2014 and it was identified as a key project in China’s 12th Five-Year Plan. The design, which has 57 fuel assemblies and integral steam generators, was developed from the larger ACP1000 PWR. It incorporates passive safety features and could be installed underground.

CNNC formally launched the project in 2019 and China’s state council approved the ACP100 Science & Technology Demonstration Project in 2021 and first concrete was poured in July that year. The lower section of the containment shell of was hoisted into place on in February 2022 and the last tank of concrete for the nuclear island’s underground retaining walls was poured the following August. Work on the installation of equipment began in December 2022, and the main internal design of the reactor building was completed in March 2023. The outer containment dome was installed in February this year. Once completed, the project will produce enough power to meet the needs of 526,000 households, CNNC said.