Engineers in eastern China have begun pouring concrete for a new reactor at the Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant. The work on Unit 5 marks the start of the project’s third construction phase in Shandong province, according to the state-run developer SPIC.

The milestone comes just weeks after the plant cleared a separate technical hurdle. On 13 August, teams at the newly completed Unit 3 wrapped up intensive hot functional tests. Contractors ran the primary coolant loop through 11 temperature stages without using real uranium fuel.

By pushing the systems to normal operational heat and pressure, engineers verified the mechanical integrity and thermal stability of the circuits before commercial power generation begins later this year.

Attention on site has now shifted to the heavy civil engineering required for Unit 5. Crews are constructing the plant’s nuclear island, which houses the reactor core and main containment barriers.

Workers must place thousands of tonnes of concrete in an unbroken pour lasting dozens of hours. This single thick raft slab anchors the entire primary structure, protecting it against ground shifts and potential seismic shocks.

Units 5 and 6 form the final stage of an ambitious regional energy hub. Once all six reactors enter service, Haiyang will rank as the world’s largest operational nuclear complex powered entirely by passive pressurized water reactors. 

These Generation III systems rely on fundamental physical properties such as gravity and natural convection to keep the core cool during emergencies, eliminating the need for external backup power.

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