The Chinese-designed nuclear reactor Hualong One, known as the U.K. HPR1000 in its U.K. version, is now undergoing a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) to gain approval from the British government. The reactor will be used by General Nuclear Services (GNS) in its potential new nuclear power plant in Bradwell, Essex.
GNS is a subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and the French company EDF. The joint venture included the development of new power plants in Sizewell, Suffolk and in Bradwell. The plant in Sizewell will utilize the French reactor design while that in Bradwell, the Chinese design.
The British government has asked nuclear regulators from ONR, a statutory public corporation which manages the process of GDA with the Environment Agency, to start the assessment of Hualong One design.
GDA is a policy for reactor vendors who wish to build nuclear projects in the U.K. It is a voluntary process and charges the cost of assessment to the requesting party. ONR has confirmed that they have already received the payment for the inspection of a Chinese design and will start the GDA process at once when everything necessary has been agreed upon with the requesting party, that is the GNS.
Mao Qing, project manager at CGN, said that the company is confident that Hualong One will meet U.K.'s requirements for nuclear reactor safety, security and design, and pass the GDA process.
According to World Nuclear News, GDA takes a number of years to be completed - about five years according to experts. If Hualong One were to be successful, it would receive a Design Acceptance Confirmation from ONR and a Statement of Design Acceptability from the Environment Agency.
"Confidence of other countries in Chinese-designed reactors will result from the investment in Bradwell, and this will help in developing a global market," said CGN chairman He Yu.
