China and Saudi Arabia signed in Beijing a cooperation agreement for a joint study and feasibility of the construction of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) in the Middle East.
Jun Gu, President of China Nuclear Energy Engineering Group (CNEC) and Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, President of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE) signed the agreement under the witness of the Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
CNEC announced that under the agreement the two companies will consider the development of system solutions for the investment and construction of HTGRs in the region. They will also examine cooperation in intellectual property and the development of a domestic industrial supply chain for HTGRs built in Saudi Arabia. The feasibility study, will also encourage the Saudi government in its decisions to build the HTGR.
According to CNEC, China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have already been looking at several sites selection for the project, agree on building a regulatory system, starting a training plan for the personnel and other aspects of the project.
CNEC has been actively promoting its HTR technology and has already signed agreements with other countries – including the UAE and South Africa to consider the construction of HTGR plants. Last August, CNEC signed an agreement with Indonesia’s National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) to jointly develop an HTGR in Indonesia.
