The Shandong Shidao Bay 200 MWe High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) Demonstration Power Plant: An Engineering and Technological Innovation

After the first concrete was poured on December 9, 2012 at the Shidao Bay site in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, China, the construction of the reactor building for the world's first high-temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed module (HTR-PM) demonstration power plant was completed in June, 2015. Installation of the main equipment then began, and the power plant is currently progressing well toward connecting to the grid at the end of 2017. The thermal power of a single HTR-PM reactor module is 250 MWth, the helium temperatures at the reactor core inlet/outlet are 250/750 degrees C, and a steam of 13.25 MPa/567 degrees C is produced at the steam generator outlet. Two HTR-PM reactor modules are connected to a steam turbine to form a 210 MWe nuclear power plant. Due to China's industrial capability, we were able to overcome great difficulties, manufacture first-of-a-kind equipment, and realize series major technological innovations. We have achieved successful results in many aspects, including planning and implementing R&D, establishing an industrial partnership, manufacturing equipment, fuel production, licensing, site preparation, and balancing safety and economics; these obtained experiences may also be referenced by the global nuclear community. (C) 2016 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier LTD on behalf of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Higher Education Press Limited Company. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).