Outer dome installed at Lufeng unit 5

On 18 October, the outer containment dome steel formwork module - measuring 51 metres in diameter, 13 metres in height, and weighing 261.8 tonnes - was raised using a 2,000-tonne crawler crane equipped with a laser target dynamic guidance system and placed on top of the walls of the double containment structure. The hoisting process took just 94 minutes to complete.

"This successful installation marked the first time that CGN completed the modular installation of the outer dome steel formwork for the Hualong One reactor, creating crucial conditions for subsequent containment pressure testing and nuclear island installation for unit 5," China General Nuclear (CGN) subsidiary CGN Lufeng Nuclear Power Company said.

In April 2022 the State Council approved construction of two Hualong One units at Lufeng as units 5 and 6. First concrete was poured for unit 5 on 8 September 2022 and that for unit 6 on 26 August 2023. Units 5 and 6 are expected to be connected to the grid in 2028 and 2029, respectively. The inner containment dome was installed at unit 5 in April 2024 and at unit 6 in July this year.

The dome is located on top of the nuclear island. Its main function is to ensure the integrity and leak tightness of the reactor building, and it plays a key role in the containment of radioactive substances.

The proposed construction of four 1250 MWe CAP1000 reactors (units 1-4) at the Lufeng site was approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission in September 2014. However, the construction of units 1 and 2 did not receive State Council approval until 19 August last year. The first safety-related concrete was poured for the nuclear island of unit 1 at the Lufeng plant on 24 February this year. Approval for units 3 and 4 is still pending.