Decouple How China Builds Reactors So Fast
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Oct 28, 2025 François Morin, a lead for the World Nuclear Association on China, brings his unique insights from traveling across Chinese reactor sites and speaking fluent Mandarin. He discusses the impressive speed of China’s nuclear construction compared to past French standards, revealing the challenges of transitioning from coal and gas. François explains the operational nuances of various advanced reactors, including the CAP1400, and the cultural hesitancies toward inland builds. He also highlights China’s ambitious plans for sodium fast and high-temperature gas reactors, while addressing geopolitical hurdles in nuclear exports.
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Seeing an SMR In Person
- Morin visited the ACP-100 Linglong SMR and found it noticeably smaller than neighboring Hualong units but still large.
- He warns calling it "small" misleads neophytes because civil works remain substantial.
Scaling Fast Reactors Up
- Fast reactor work in China scales from small experimental units toward larger commercial designs.
- Morin describes CFR-600 operation and plans to progress to CFR-1000 and beyond.
Molten Salt Is Still Research-Only
- The LF1 thorium molten-salt test reactor is tiny and research-focused, not a commercial power source.
- Key steps like protactinium removal and full fuel cycle recycling remain for LF2 and are years away.