Reactor internals installed at second Hualong One unit in Pakistan

Reactor internals are the major structures within a reactor pressure vessel that have one or more functions such as supporting the core, maintaining fuel alignment, directing primary coolant flow, providing radiation shields for the reactor vessel, and guiding in-core instrumentation.

Installation of the reactor internals at Karachi 3 was completed on 4 April, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced today. The milestone, the company said, lays "a solid foundation" for the subsequent flushing of the unit's primary circuit and the start of cold tests.

Karachi 2 and 3 are the first export of China's Hualong One design, with construction of unit 2 beginning in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016.

In addition to the two units under construction at Karachi, six Hualong One units are being built in China. CNNC is constructing two units at its Fuqing plant in Fujian province, while China General Nuclear (CGN) is building two at its Fangchenggang site in Guangxi province. All four units are expected to be connected to the Chinese grid this year. Construction began on a unit at Zhangzhou in Fujian last September and at Taipingling in Guangdong in late December.

CGN proposes to use a UK version of its Hualong One design - the HPR1000 - at a prospective new nuclear power plant at Bradwell, England.