China Approves Four Nuclear Projects with Eight Units, Investment Exceeds RMB 170 Billion

The State Council executive meeting has recently decided to approve four nuclear power projects - Zhejiang Jinqimen Phase II, Guangdong Taipingling Phase III, Liaoning Zhuanghe Phase I and Shandong Laiyang Phase I - comprising eight nuclear power units with total investment exceeding RMB 170 billion. These are the first batch of nuclear projects to land in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Nuclear projects feature large unit investment, long construction cycles and extensive industry chains; the RMB 170 billion in direct investment can drive about RMB 500 billion in total output across the entire industry chain, spanning special steel, high-end equipment manufacturing, engineering construction and scientific research innovation.

Under the plan, China's operating nuclear capacity will reach about 110 million kW by 2030. Coastal economic provinces such as Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shandong have large industrial bases with persistently high electricity loads, and the rise of artificial intelligence technology is further lifting power demand. Nuclear power is not constrained by day-night cycles or weather conditions, and its output is stable and controllable. A single 1,000 MW-class nuclear unit can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 9 million tonnes per year.

Of the eight approved units, six adopt the Hualong One technical route, while the two units at Shandong Laiyang use Guohé One. Jinqimen Phase II and Taipingling Phase III are positioned as Hualong One 2.0 demonstration projects, with the technology optimised on the basis of the mature original design in terms of safety performance, operating economics and intelligent operation and maintenance. The simultaneous deployment of two third-generation nuclear technologies with fully independent intellectual property rights shows that China has built a mature and complete nuclear technology system.

On the capital structure side, the Jinqimen project has brought in social capital including Youngor and Alibaba-affiliated entities as shareholders, with channels for private capital participation in nuclear construction continuing to widen. On nuclear energy comprehensive utilisation, the Shandong Laiyang project includes a planned nuclear heating project; the two units have heating capacity of 68 million square metres, and once all six units are fully operational, total heating capacity will exceed 170 million square metres, sufficient to meet the heating needs of about 28 county-level cities.

The State Council executive meeting explicitly required that nuclear units be built and operated to the world's highest safety standards, ensuring nuclear safety is foolproof. Hualong One 2.0, through optimised safety system design and defence-in-depth strategies, adopts advanced core protection technology, direct pressure vessel injection and passive in-vessel melt retention technology; under design-basis accident conditions, the operator non-intervention time has been raised from 30 minutes in version 1.0 to 72 hours.

Since 2022, China has maintained a pace of approving about 10 nuclear units per year. The concentrated approval of these eight units opens the curtain on nuclear construction during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.