Tianwan Unit 7 Begins First Fuel Loading with Russian VVER-1200 Technology

On August 12, 2026, CNNC's Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant Unit 7 began initial fuel loading, marking the first fuel loading of a VVER-1200 unit in China. Fuel loading is a key milestone in the entire nuclear power construction cycle. This process requires the loading of 163 fuel assemblies, encompassing three steps: fuel assembly transfer, fuel loading into the reactor core, and verification of loading correctness.

Fuel loading employs a fully automated remote loading control system. Staff monitor operations from a refueling machine control room located 30 meters from the reactor hall, with each fuel assembly positioned into the core with millimeter-level precision. After loading is completed, the unit will enter the commissioning phase with nuclear fuel, preparing for subsequent operation.

Units 7 and 8 of Tianwan are a China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project, utilizing the Russian VVER-1200 Generation III reactor design. Each unit has a rated capacity of 1.265 million kilowatts and an annual generation capacity of nearly 10 billion kilowatt-hours, with a design life of 60 years. The Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant base, located in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, is the largest nuclear power base globally in terms of total installed capacity (operating plus under construction). Units 1 through 6 have maintained safe and stable operation for a long time, with cumulative safe grid-connected electricity exceeding 500 billion kilowatt-hours.

According to the construction plan, Unit 7 is scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2026, and Unit 8 is planned for 2027. Currently, Unit 8 has completed its cold functional test. Once all units at the Tianwan base are operational, the total installed capacity will exceed 9 million kilowatts, with annual clean electricity supply exceeding 70 billion kilowatt-hours.