China has turned the energy sector upside down: the first fusion-proof nuclear power plant is already a success

Disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima have turned much of the public against nuclear power, but China wants to turn the tide with the first meltdown-proof power plant. The HTR-PM has proven its safety by operating at full capacity.

A pioneering fission reactor. Launched in December 2023 in Shidaowan, Shandong Province, the HTR-PM (High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module) is the first small modular reactor (SMR) to be installed on land.

Developed by the Institute of Nuclear Technology and New Energy at Tsinghua University, it is also the second fourth-generation reactor (after the Russian BN-800) that is already connected to the electricity grid and the heating network. Since its commissioning, it has provided thermal energy to 1,850 households.

The first SMR with a ball bed. HTR-PM has two 250 MW thermal modules driving a 210 MW electrical steam turbine. The most distinctive feature of this small, gas-cooled modular fission reactor is that, instead of traditional fuel rods, it uses a bed of pellets.

HTR-PM is the first SMR with this design, in which the nuclear fuel is encapsulated in graphite balls with lower energy density that allow for more effective and safer cooling.

Fusion proof. It has been realized Two safety tests on both moduleseach operating at a thermal output of 200 MW. During testing, the active power supply to the small reactors was disconnected to see whether their waste heat could be removed passively.

The reactors cooled naturally to a stable temperature within 35 hours without any external intervention. This is the first time that the safety of a commercial-scale fusion-proof nuclear power plant has been demonstrated.

A feat of engineering with a big but. Development of the HTR-PM began in 2016. Despite a six-year delay, the full-power results are promising for nuclear fission safety and low-cost decarbonisation.

The HTR-PM is a feat of engineering that once again demonstrates China’s ability to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. But global adoption is still a long way off, as the technology cannot be applied to existing reactors, meaning new facilities will be needed to benefit from this safe design.

Image | Tsinghua University

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