Two Russia-designed VVER-1200s under construction at site
Russia has installed the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for the Tianwan-7 nuclear power plant under construction in Jiangsu province, eastern China, according to Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
Rosatom said the next stages of the main equipment phase will include the installation of the main circulation pumps, steam generators, and the main circulation pipeline.
The RPV is one of the largest components in a nuclear reactor system and its installation is considered a project milestone. It contains the nuclear reactor coolant, core shroud, and the nuclear fuel assemblies.
Rosatom said the VVER-1200 RPV weighs 334 tonnes and has a height of about 11 metres.
The RPV was delivered to China in August 2023, after being shipped from a factory in Russia in April.
There are two Russia-designed VVER-1200 Generation III+ pressurised water reactor units under construction at Tianwan. Construction of Tianwan-7 began in May 2021 and Tianwan-8 in February 2022.
The Tianwan station has another six PWR units in commercial operation, with Units 1 to 4 having been built by Russia using tis VVER-1000 technology. Units 5 and 6 operate China’s indigenous CNP-1000 PWR design.
