Hot functional testing under way at China's 125 MWe ACP100 SMR
Fuel loading is targeted within the year, the China News Service reported, with first concrete poured in July 2021 for a 58-month build.
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Key facts
- Cold functional tests completed in October 2025, verifying primary circuit leak-tightness
- Design was first SMR to pass an IAEA safety review, in 2016; development began in 2010
- First Changjiang Hualong One entered commercial operation in September 2026; second due early 2027
- Output of 1 billion kWh a year, enough for 526,000 households, once complete
- Designed for electricity production, heating, steam production or seawater desalination
Testing that simulates the temperatures and pressures the reactor systems will face in normal operation is under way at the ACP100 small modular reactor demonstration project at the Changjiang site in the island province of Hainan, China News Service reported.
Hot functional testing raises the temperature of the reactor coolant system and checks that coolant circuits and safety systems operate as they should. It is carried out before fuel is loaded. The tests aim to allow fuel loading into the reactor within the year, according to the report.
China National Nuclear Corporation announced the ACP100 project in July 2019. First concrete was poured on July 13, 2021, with a planned construction period of 58 months. Cold functional tests, which verify the leak-tightness of the primary circuit and clean the main circulation pipes, were completed in October last year.
The 125 MWe integrated PWR, also called Linglong One, is designed to produce 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough for 526,000 households, and for electricity production, heating, steam production or seawater desalination.