China Huaneng Group, one of the country's largest electric power providers, together with China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corp. (CNEC) and Tsinghua University, signed an investment agreement on Thursday in Beijing for the construction of a high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactor for power generation.

This marks a critical step toward the commercialization of this type of reactor, said Li Xiaopeng, Huaneng Group's president and chairman of the board. The 200,000-kilowatt generator is expected to go on line by the end of 2010.

Huaneng will handle 50 percent of the total investment, with CNEC taking 35 percent and Tsinghua responsible for 5 percent. The remaining 10 percent will go to new investors with the consent of the three partners.

However, the total amount of investment in the reactor is currently unknown, as construction is still in an experimental period, said project sources.

Safety is a primary feature of the state-of-the-art, high-temperature and gas-cooled nuclear power generation technology, according to a researcher in nuclear power from Tsinghua University. China holds full property rights to the technology being employed.

Commercial application of this technology is conducive to the technological upgrading of China's power generation sector, the source said.

An official from CNEC concurred. "The agreement accords with China's medium- and long-term strategies of vigorously developing the country's nuclear power and energy industry in order to optimize the electric power industry's structure."

Currently, China relies heavily on coal for power generation, an imbalance that may hinder the country's sustainable economic development according to industry experts.

"The cooperation will undoubtedly enhance China's technological industrialization and bolster the growth of the country's electric power industry and national economy," said an analyst with CITIC Research Institute.

(China Daily December 17, 2004)