Westinghouse, China’s SNPTC Partner to Develop Global AP1000 Supply Chain

Westinghouse and China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corp. (SNPTC) have teamed to further develop a supply chain within China for power plant equipment and components to be used in global AP1000 nuclear power plants.

The Beijing-based joint venture, SNPTC-WEC Nuclear Power Technical Services, will work to qualify suppliers to the AP1000 nuclear power plant market. It will also work toward a goal of exporting equipment and components made by qualified Chinese suppliers and to import components and equipment made by qualified suppliers around the world for use in China.

In a statement on Monday, Westinghouse President and CEO Danny Roderick said the joint venture would contribute to increasing the overall quality and safety of nuclear equipment worldwide.

Westinghouse and SNPTC are building four AP1000 nuclear power plants in Sanmen and Haiyang in China. According to the World Nuclear Association, Westinghouse’s AP1000 is the “main basis of China’s move to Generation III technology.” At least six more AP1000 reactors at three sites are in the planning phase at Sanmen, Haiyang, and Lufeng, and at least 30 more are proposed to follow. Westinghouse is also working with SNPTC and the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research & Design Institute (SNERDI) to develop the CAP1400, a domestic Gen-III reactor design derived from the AP1000.

Sources: POWERnews, Westinghouse, WNA

NOTE: This story was originally published on May 16