July 23rd, 2024

Chinese nuclear reactor is completely meltdown-proof

A Chinese nuclear reactor in Shandong showcases passive cooling in emergencies, enhancing safety with the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module design. This innovation sets a new standard for nuclear safety, offering a promising model for future nuclear power stations.

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Chinese nuclear reactor is completely meltdown-proof

A Chinese nuclear reactor in Shandong has successfully demonstrated the ability to cool itself passively in emergencies, making it impervious to dangerous meltdowns even in the absence of external power. This design, known as the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM), sets a new standard for nuclear safety. Unlike traditional reactors that rely on active cooling systems or human intervention during emergencies, this reactor's design eliminates the risk of meltdown. While the technology used in this reactor cannot be retrofitted to existing nuclear plants worldwide, it serves as a promising model for future nuclear power stations. This breakthrough could pave the way for the development of safer and more reliable nuclear energy infrastructure globally.

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Link Icon 3 comments
By @defrost - 3 months
IIRC there's another larger reactor of this type already midway through construction in China and third even larger again scheduled to start in a year or so based on this first "at scale" pilot bedding for a year or so.

This is commitment to the pebble reactor design through tight staged near parallel construction, a minimum feasible gap in which to iterate lessons learned forwards.

By @ggm - 3 months
The thing they should have said in the headline is that its a large pebble-bed reactor. So far they've all been demonstrators. But now:

Dong and his colleagues have demonstrated that the system works with a full-scale nuclear plant, the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) in Shandong.

By @ggm - 3 months