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In July, the thermal hydraulic parameters of the steam generator were validated. The first of the graphite moderator spheres was loaded within the core of the first reactor in April last year. The second reactor pressure vessel was installed later that year. The vessel - about 25 metres in height and weighing about 700 tonnes - was manufactured by Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Equipment. The pressure vessel of the first reactor was installed within the unit's containment building in March 2016. "The overall structure is very complex, and the requirements for raw materials and manufacturing processes are extremely high," said CNNC. The design temperature of the HTR-PM reaches 750☌. The steam generator transfers heat from helium coolant to a water/steam loop. Helium gas will be used as the primary circuit coolant. The demonstration plant's twin HTR-PM reactors will drive a single 210 MWe turbine. Chinergy, a joint venture of Tsinghua and CNEC, is the main contractor for the nuclear island. China Huaneng is the lead organisation in the consortium to build the demonstration units together with CNNC subsidiary China Nuclear Engineering Corporation (CNEC) and Tsinghua University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, which is the research and development leader. Work began on the demonstration HTR-PM unit - which features two small reactors and a turbine - at China Huaneng's Shidaowan site in December 2012. Completion of the test "indicates that China has fully mastered the design and manufacture" of steam generators for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, according to the company. The test was completed on 29 September, one month ahead of schedule, CNNC said. Testing of the HTR-PM steam generator (Image: CNNC) The first steam generator for China's demonstration high-temperature gas-cooled reactor plant (HTR-PM) has completed air pressure tests, confirming its integrity, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has announced.