China’s state-run National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has just announced the launch of China’s first nuclear-based steam generation project to be used in the petrochemicals industry.

The Heqi No. 1 project at the Tianwan nuclear plant in eastern Jiangsu province is the latest step in Chinese efforts to decarbonise heavy industry and will produce steam for a petrochemicals operation in the port city of Lianyungang. Both the project and the Tianwan plant are run by CNNC’s China National Nuclear Power Co.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that cogeneration ― the term used to describe the integration of nuclear power plants with other applications such as cooling and heating ― can have economic and environmental benefits. Reuters reports that In December 2022, the Qinshan plant in eastern Zhejiang province became the first project to supply nuclear-generated thermal energy for industrial use.