CGN Unveils Hualong One 2.0 Nuclear Reactor with 66% Higher Automation
China's Gen-III+ advanced nuclear power technology, "Hualong One" 2.0, was unveiled to the global market on September 7 at the CGN 2026 Sustainable Development Conference held in Shenzhen. Building on the existing defense-in-depth (DiD) safety architecture, "Hualong One" 2.0 comprehensively optimizes 14 safety features, with notable improvements in nine key safety indicators.
Representatives from over 200 participants across 28 countries and regions attended the conference. "Hualong One" 2.0 enables operators to remain without intervention for 72 hours post-accident and achieves 7-day accident self-sustaining capability. It comprehensively simplifies auxiliary system configurations: pipeline length is reduced by approximately 31%, process valves by about 25%, nuclear island building volume by 21%, and nuclear island installation volume by approximately 33%. Additionally, the unit automation operation ratio is increased by 66%, enabling more precise system regulation and faster response, while key equipment features 100% localization capability.
Nuclear safety gets stronger
The safety architecture retains the defense-in-depth approach used in Hualong One, while 14 safety features have been optimized and nine key safety indicators improved.
The changes are intended to make the reactor easier to build and operate while strengthening its ability to respond to abnormal conditions. Automation is another major part of the upgrade. The unit automation operation ratio has increased by 66 percent, allowing systems to be regulated more precisely and potentially reducing response times.
“This is not a brand-new technology developed from scratch, but rather a systematic upgrade in quality and efficiency built upon a mature design, delivering comprehensive enhancements across five dimensions: safety, construction schedule, capital cost, O&M, and environmental protection,” said Niu Wenhua, chief expert of “Hualong One” 2.0, at the launch.
The technology also targets supply-chain independence. Key equipment is designed with 100 percent localization capability, according to CGN. The upgrade comes after years of operating experience with Hualong One.
Ten Hualong One reactors have entered commercial operation in China and overseas, while another 37 have been approved and are under construction.
CGN said the Hualong One development program has already incorporated experience from large-scale construction and operation. Its research and development team, working with industry partners, completed nearly 100 design optimizations before arriving at the 2.0 version.
Leveraging the innovative talent, resources, and nuclear power construction and operation experience accumulated through CPR1000 construction, CGN successfully launched "Hualong One," China's Gen-III nuclear power technology with independent intellectual property rights. To date, 10 "Hualong One" units have been put into commercial operation both domestically and internationally, with another 37 approved and currently under construction, fully validating its maturity through large-scale, batch construction and operation.
The move gives China a route to test whether the design’s promised gains in safety, construction, automation, and cost can translate from engineering optimization into large-scale nuclear deployment.