The generator stator has been hoisted into place at the ACP100 small modular reactor demonstration project at the Changjiang site on China’s island province of Hainan, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced.

The steam turbine generator set is the core component of the power plant that converts thermal energy into electrical energy, CNNC said. The generator for the ACP100 - also referred to as the Linglong One - consists of a stator, a rotor, a cooler and two bearing boxes.

The generator stator - measuring about 6 metres in length and weighing more than 130 tonnes - was successfully placed on the generator base within the conventional island on 14 September.

CNNC said the key difficulty with the hoisting operation lay in the small site area. “The generator stator needed to be hoisted by two cranes, passed through the maintenance hoisting hole to the steam turbine platform, and finally placed on the generator base, which required extremely high positioning accuracy,” it said.

It added, “The successful lifting and installation of the generator stator has laid a solid foundation for the subsequent installation of the steam turbine generator unit.”

CNNC announced in July 2019 the launch of a project to construct an ACP100 SMR at Changjiang. The site is already home to two operating CNP600 pressurised water reactors (PWRs), while the construction of the two Hualong One units began in March and December 2021. Both those units are due to enter commercial operation by the end of 2026.

First concrete for the ACP100 was poured on 13 July 2021, with a planned total construction period of 58 months. Equipment installation work commenced in December 2022 and the main internal structure of the reactor building was completed in March 2023. The outer containment dome was hoisted into place in February this year.

Under development since 2010, the 125 MWe ACP100 integrated PWR’s preliminary design was completed in 2014. In 2016, the design became the first SMR to pass a safety review by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Once completed, the Changjiang ACP100 reactor will be capable of producing 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to meet the needs of 526,000 households. The reactor is designed for electricity production, heating, steam production or seawater desalination.