Cover installation of the pressure vessel of the high-temperature gas cooled reactor is completed on Dec 27, 2017. 

The world first high-temperature gas cooled reactor nuclear power plant located in Shidao Bay, East China's Shandong province, successfully transported and placed the cover on the main flange of the reactor's pressure vessel on Dec 27, 2017, an important milestone of the project. 

The precise positioning suggests that the installation of core equipment on the reactor has been completed, which is a positive step for commissioning of the whole reactor. 

Tsinghua University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology took the lead in designing the reactor's main equipment and system. 

The cover, the last large-scale part of the reactor before heaping, weighs 80.5 tons and has a diameter of up to 6.4 meters. Personnel involved in transporting and installing pulled out all stops during the two-hour task. 

To make sure the installation was a success on the first attempt, Tsinghua University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology worked with Huaneng Shandong Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Co Ltd, China Nuclear Energy Technology Co (CNET), and China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Co Ltd, for better coordination and response in case of an emergency.

Cooperating with China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Group Corporation and China General Nuclear Power Corporation, Tsinghua Holdings established the CNET in a bid to promote industrialization of research outcomes in high temperature cooled reactors. 

The move will help China become the first country in the world to master the high temperature cooled reactors technologies for commercial use and be capable of providing a complete set of equipment in this area.