A plan for China's fourth-generation 600,000-kilowatt high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR) was released by Tsinghua University on Dec. 21. Representing the first commercial HTR plan in the world, the development is of crucial significance.

The HTR scheme was independently developed by Tsinghua University and China-owned IPRs. Currently, the project is in the installation and commissioning stage; it is scheduled to achieve grid generation by the end of 2017.

Zhang Zuoyi, the chief architect of the project, claimed that HTR has broader prospect than coal-fired alternatives, as it combines heat, power and the production of nuclear hydrogen. In addition, it is a significant force behind China’s nuclear strategy.

China has made a number of breakthroughs in core HTR technologies. It has signed memoranda of understanding with Saudi Arabia and Indonesia relating to HTR.