Can energy-hungry Asia embrace nuclear power?
The latest milestone in the construction of a small modular reactor in China raises interesting prospects for collaboration in the region
Earlier this month, China National Nuclear Corporation quietly marked a groundbreaking achievement. It announced that Linglong One – which it has billed as the world’s first commercial land-based small modular reactor – had successfully completed its “cold functional test”. This is the first comprehensive assessment of a reactor, done before fuel loading, checking how the system functions under high pressure.
Linglong One, which has been much cheaper to construct than the larger Hualong One reactor, could be a game-changer in the nuclear energy landscape. It was the world’s first commercial small reactor to begin construction, having passed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safety review in 2016. When it becomes operational, the reactor is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a whopping 880,000 tonnes per year, equivalent to planting 7.5 million trees.
Across Asia, the growth of nuclear energy has been explosive. According to the World Nuclear Association, Asia currently has around 145 operable nuclear power reactors, with 45 under construction and concrete plans to build 60 more. Of the operable reactors, 58 are in China, 33 in Japan, though many have been temporarily shut down, 26 in South Korea and 24 in India.