BEIJING, Dec 11 (Reuters) - China will start commercial operation of its homegrown small modular reactor (SMR), the Linglong One, in the first half of 2026, an official with the research arm of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said on Thursday.

Also known as the APC100, the reactor was the first SMR to be approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2016. CNNC's project on China's island province of Hainan, the first to use the Linglong One design, broke ground in 2021.

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The small reactors will mainly be used to meet electricity demand where the grid is weaker, such as on islands, Wang Zhenqing, president of the China Institute of Nuclear Industry Strategy, told an international energy gathering in Beijing.

SMRs are smaller and quicker to build than traditional reactors and can be deployed in remote regions and on ships and aircraft.

Backers say they also save costs because they can be built in factories, although questions remain whether the power provided is as cheap as larger reactors.

No such small reactors are being built yet in the United States, but the energy department seeks to develop them by the 2030s. It unveiled funding of $800 million for their development by Tennessee Valley Authority and private company Holtec.

In November, Britain also greenlit a project in North Wales to build mini-reactors and link them to the grid by the 2030s.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-start-commercial-operation-first-small-modular-nuclear-reactor-2026-2025-12-11/