China General Nuclear Power Corp on 14 June established three new companies in the UK.
Bradwell Power Corp will be responsible for the 100% Chinese-built Bradwell B nuclear power plant. General Nuclear System Ltd will steer China's Hualong reactor technology through the UK generic design approval process, and the restructured General Nuclear International will manage CGN's projects in the UK.
According to China Daily, CGN Chairman He Yu said: "With its new subsidiaries unfolding, the company is confident that it will grow steadily in the field of nuclear technology in Britain."
As part of a deal reached in 2016, Chinese investors are involved in the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, which will use French EPR technology. EDF holds 66.5% of the shares in Hinkley Point C, with Chinese groups led by CGN holding 33.5%. Under the 2016 agreement, CGN and EDF will work together on two other UK nuclear plants – Sizewell C, in Suffolk; and Bradwell, in Essex.
China will seek to get the Hualong One technology approved in the UK through the Generic Design Assessment process, which usually takes about five years to complete.
"We plan to submit the preliminary security report to the British government by mid-November and wrap up all the first phase examination work by then," He Yu told China Daily.
