Photo taken on Jan. 30, 2021 shows the No. 5 nuclear power unit in the city of Fuqing, southeast China's Fujian Province. China's first nuclear power unit using Hualong One, a domestically-designed third-generation nuclear reactor, has entered commercial operation, said the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Saturday. The No. 5 unit in Fuqing is generating electricity for sale after a seven-day trial run. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

Chinese nuclear giant China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) signed an agreement with a company in Argentina to establish a nuclear station with CNNC's Hualong One technology, a third-generation pressurized water reactor, according to a public statement released by the CNNC on Tuesday.

The news came on the first day of the Chinese New Year and against the backdrop that the two countries are embracing the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Argentina in 2022. 

The agreement was signed between the CNNC, several of its subsidiaries, as well as the Nuclear Power Plant Argentina for the design, purchasing and construction of Atucha III Nuclear Power Plant, the statement said. 

Atucha III is known in China as the Hualong project. 

The statement called the project as an "important milestone" for China and Argentina's nuclear cooperation, as the two sides work together to cope with climate change and reach global carbon neutrality goals. 

According to a report from mercopress.com, the Atucha III is a 1200 MW reactor to be installed at the Atucha Nuclear Complex in the Buenos Aires Province. It will be the country's fourth such power plant. 

As one of the most accepted third-generation nuclear models, each Hualong One nuclear generator has an installed capacity of about 1.2 million kilowatts and is expected to generate about 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year, which can meet the power use demands of one million people. 

In contrast to coal-fired power generators, Hualong One could help reduce 8.16 million tons of carbon dioxide and 3.12 million tons of coal consumption. 

Currently, Hualong One's first nuclear reactor Fuqing 5 and the first overseas nuclear power unit, located in Pakistan, have both finished construction and are operating stably. The Fuqing 6 unit, which is located in East China's Fujian Province, was also connected to the power grid recently. 

Besides, Hualong One has also started batch construction in areas like South China's Hainan and Fujian, the aforementioned statement said. 

Global Times