On December 6, Huaneng Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) nuclear power plant jointly built by Shanghai Electric was officially put into commercial operation after the 168 hours of continuous operation test. It is a landmark achievement of the major scientific and technological special project in China with completely independent intellectual property rights. As the world's first fourth-generation nuclear power plant, it represents world-leading technology.

Shidaowan High Temperature Air-cooled Reactor Demonstration Project was listed in 2006 as one of the 16 major national science and technology projects alongside the Lunar Exploration Project and Beidou Navigation, and its construction started in 2012. Shanghai Electric was one of its major participants in construction, responsible for supplying reactor pressure vessel, metal reactor vessel internal, control rod drive mechanism, absorber ball reactor shutdown system, steam turbine, main helium circulator, helium compressor and other major equipment. Having devoted more than a decade on the task, Shanghai Electric has independently achieved a number of technological breakthroughs that address global and industrial problems, ensuring that 93.4% of all engineering equipment are made in China.

The reactor pressure vessel of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor for the demonstration project manufactured by Shanghai Electric has larger dimensions and more complex structure compared with pressurized water reactor equipment, and its height and weight have reached the highest in history. The metal reactor vessel internal of the demonstration project of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor manufactured by Shanghai Electric has the largest size of thin-walled metal reactor vessel internal in the world, which filled the gap in China. The main helium circulator of the 10 MW experimental reactor manufactured by Shanghai Electric has been running stably for 20 years. Solving many major technical problems in ternary high-efficiency impeller design and manufacturing, Shanghai Electric has developed the world's first high-temperature, high-pressure, high-power, electromagnetic bearing main helium circulator. Highly efficient and compact, with significant advantages in operation and maintenance, Shanghai Electric's independently designed, developed and researched fourth-generation steam turbine in the conventional island of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor is of strategic significance for the sustainable development of China's fourth-generation nuclear power technology.

It is reported that high-temperature gas-cooled reactor is an internationally recognized advanced fourth-generation reactor technology and the future of the nuclear power. With "inherent safety", in the event of loss of all cooling capacity, the reactor can maintain a safe state without any intervention measures, and there will not be any core meltdowns and leakage of radioactive materials. This reactor type has broad prospects for commercial application in power generation, cogeneration and high-temperature heating. The commissioning of the demonstration project will promote the safe development of China's nuclear power and upgrade the innovation capability.