News Brief
China Unveils Design For First Commercial Fourth-Gen Fast Neutron Reactor In Major Nuclear Energy Push, Likely To Begin Operation By 2034
A Chinese nuclear power plant (Representative Image) (Pic Via Wikipedia)
China has unveiled the design of its first commercial-scale fast neutron reactor, marking a critical milestone in its ambitions to lead next-generation nuclear energy.
The CFR-1000, developed by the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), will be a 1.2-gigawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor—classified as a fourth-generation nuclear technology.
The announcement came during a symposium on advanced nuclear energy held Tuesday (22 July) in Fuzhou, Fujian province, and attended by officials from the China Atomic Energy Authority and National Energy Administration.
CNNC confirmed that the preliminary design phase has been completed and that the reactor is now awaiting regulatory approval. It is expected to enter commercial operation around 2034, SCMP reported.
“Fast reactors are a crucial step in China’s ‘three-step’ strategy of nuclear energy development: thermal reactors, fast reactors, and fusion reactors,” CNNC stated on its website.
Unlike conventional thermal reactors, fast neutron reactors use high-energy, unmoderated neutrons to sustain fission.
This allows for greater fuel efficiency and the potential to generate fissile material from nuclear waste.
However, the process also produces plutonium-239, which can be used in weapons, raising proliferation concerns among international observers.
The CFR-1000 will build on China’s experience with earlier fast reactor projects, including the Russian-built China Experimental Fast Reactor (20MW), which began grid operations in 2011, and the ongoing CFR-600 demonstration reactor in Xiapu, Fujian, whose first unit began operating at reduced capacity in 2023.
Fast neutron reactors are considered a cornerstone of global efforts to improve nuclear sustainability.
The Gen IV International Forum, of which China, the US, and EU are members, promotes these reactors for their potential to reduce waste and environmental risks.
The sodium-cooled design selected by China is currently the most advanced among fast reactor technologies, with various experimental and commercial projects underway globally.
Sodium as a coolant enables reactors to operate at higher temperatures and with better thermal efficiency than traditional water-cooled systems.
Russia currently operates the largest such reactor—the BN-800—and is constructing its successor, the BN-1200, with a similar 1.2GW capacity slated for completion by 2034.
The US, which shut down its Integral Fast Reactor project decades ago, currently has no operating fast reactors.
However, Bill Gates-backed TerraPower is developing a 345MW sodium-cooled unit in partnership with the US Department of Energy.
China had earlier signed a collaboration deal with TerraPower in 2015 to co-develop a travelling wave reactor, but that partnership was suspended in 2019 due to US export restrictions.
