The Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) nuclear power plant – an independently developed national key sci-tech project in China – successfully entered commercial operation on Dec 6.

This marks the completion of the world's first commercially operated nuclear power plant using modular fourth-generation nuclear technology.

Hailing from Baotou, CNNC North Nuclear Fuel Element Co provided the nuclear fuel elements for the nuclear power plant and has established the world's first industrial-scale production line for high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear fuel elements.

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear fuel elements are spherical fuel elements with a diameter of 60 millimeters. Each sphere can produce heat equivalent to 1.5 metric tons of standard coal.

The spherical fuel element produced at CNNC North Nuclear Fuel Element Co. [Photo/WeChat account of Baotou Daily]

Construction on the production line began in March 2013. In August 2016, the first batch of fuel elements was successfully prepared, and product qualification was completed.

On July 17, 2017, the 200,000th spherical fuel element rolled off the production line. On Dec 20, 2021, the first batch of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear fuel elements generated the first kilowatt-hour of electricity.