The companies building the first AP1000 reactors in China announced a joint venture Monday that will further their cooperation and potentially encourage cross-border supplier networks for the reactor's equipment.
Westinghouse and State Nuclear Power Technology Corp. said the joint venture, called SNPTC-WEC Nuclear Power Technical Services (Beijing) Co., will provide AP1000 supplier qualification services globally. It will help develop the supply chain for the Westinghouse reactors in China, while also qualifying suppliers from other countries to enable both imports and exports.
“This joint venture also provides the opportunity for collaboration in new markets. We expect to provide new opportunities for business both within and outside of China. By forming this joint venture, we have a mechanism for delivering our goods and services together to a broader range of customers," Westinghouse CEO Danny Roderick said in a release.
SNPTC is the general contractor at the Sanmen and Haiyang plants, whose four units will be the first operational AP1000s in the world. The generation III reactor was designed by Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse, which is owned by Toshiba.
China represents, by far, the largest market for reactors and related products in the world, with 28 units currently under construction, according to the World Nuclear Association. Plans have called for an additional six AP1000 reactors to be built at Sanmen, Haiyang and Xudabao. Another 20 AP1000 units were planned for inland sites but put on hold following the country's post-Fukushima regulatory changes, and the reactor design has been mentioned in proposals for dozens of other Chinese sites with less-concrete timelines.