CNNC and Rosatom sign fuel contract for Tianwan 7-8 nuclear reactors in China

Chinese state-run nuclear corporation China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has signed a contract with Russia's Rosatom subsidiary TVEL for the supply of nuclear fuel for the units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in the Jiangsu province of China. TVEL will supply fuel for the first core of the reactors and for refuelling. Tianwan 7 and 8 would be VVER-1200 reactors. The four operational reactors of the Tianwan nuclear power plant currently use fuel produced by TVEL at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant (TVEL group, in Russia) or by the Yibin fuel plant (China, under licence with TVEL).

The Tianwan facility already includes the two 990 MW (1,060 MW gross) units, which were commissioned in 2007. Tianwan-3 (1,060 MW net, 1,126 MW gross) entered commercial operation in February 2018 and Tianwan-4 (990 MW net, 1,060 MW gross) in October 2018. The construction of two additional 1,000 MW (1,080 MW gross) ACPR1000 reactors, Tianwan-5 and 6, started in late 2015 and early 2016, respectively; the two units are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2021. Two additional reactors, Tianwan-7 and Tianwan-8, are also under development though without any specific commissioning date so far. With all eight reactors in operation, Tianwan would become the largest nuclear power plant in the world, with a total capacity of 8.1 GW.

The Tianwan nuclear power plant is operated by the Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, a joint venture between China National Nuclear Corporation (50%), China Power Investment Corporation (30%) and Jiangsu Guoxin Group (20%).