Concrete pouring for the No. 1 unit of the Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Plant in east China's Shandong Province began on Tuesday, marking the official start of full-scale construction of the facility.
The power plant is the first "Hualong One" nuclear plant in China that features a cooling tower.
"Hualong One" is a third-generation nuclear technology independently developed by China, and currently has the largest number of operational and under-construction units worldwide.
The No. 1 unit's nuclear island covers an area of over 2,000 square meters, equivalent to five basketball courts.
"The total concrete pour amounted to 8,823 cubic meters, taking approximately 55 hours to complete. We divided the pour into six sections, casting the entire structure in a single continuous operation," said Wei Jinsuo, head of the Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Plant project at China Nuclear Industry Huaxing Construction Co.,Ltd.
A high-level water collection (HWC) cooling tower is being used for cooling the conventional island system, reducing the use of water by reusing cooling water. This is different to traditional, open-loop cooling systems where water is drawn from the sea, passed through the plant, and then returned.
"Hot water from the conventional island plant enters the cooling tower, then gets pumped to a water distributor. After reaching this distributor, the hot water is dispersed to the storage tank platform. Once cooled, the water flows to the collector, then to the pump house, and finally back into the conventional island," said Wang Xiaowei, head of the Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Plant project at China Nuclear Power Engineering Co.,Ltd.
The project will include six "Hualong One" reactors, with a combined installed capacity of approximately 7.2 million kilowatts. Once complete, it will meet the annual electricity demand of about five million people for both residential and industrial use.
"Upon completion and commissioning, these six units will generate 50 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually. This will reduce standard coal consumption by approximately 15.27 million tons per year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 46.2 million tons -- equivalent to planting over 110,000 hectares of forest," said Yu Xiangdong, director of the Zhaoyuan Nuclear Power Plant project at China General Nuclear Power Corporation.
China starts construction on new nuclear power plant
China starts construction on new nuclear power plant
Chinese robotics company Unitree Robotics has launched its initial public offering (IPO) process for a listing on Shanghai's STAR Market, as the country's humanoid robotics industry continues to gain momentum.
According to an announcement released on Thursday, the firm based in Hangzhou in east China plans to issue 40.45 million shares, representing 10 percent of its enlarged share capital. The offering will combine strategic placement, offline institutional subscription and online public subscription.
The preliminary price inquiry is scheduled for Aug. 5, while online and offline subscriptions will begin on Aug. 10, Unitree said, without disclosing the trading debut date.
After the listing, Unitree founder Wang Xingxing and related parties will hold 31.29 percent of the company's shares and 65.31 percent of its voting rights.
Founded in 2016, Unitree Robotics has emerged as one of China's leading robotics firms, specializing in the development of quadruped and humanoid robots. In 2025, its humanoid robot shipments surpassed 5,500 units, ranking first globally.
Benefiting from robust demand for embodied artificial intelligence and continued expansion of its business operations, Unitree expects revenue for the first half of 2026 to reach between 1.052 billion yuan (about 155.73 million U.S. dollars) and 1.128 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 35.62 percent to 45.41 percent.
Gaining widespread attention after its humanoid robots performed at China's Spring Festival Gala, Unitree filed its IPO application on March 20, and obtained regulatory registration approval 104 days later, a record-breaking timeline for STAR Market listings, which underscored regulators' recognition of the strategic importance of embodied intelligence, analysts have noted.
This IPO move reflects a broader trend in China as embodied AI and humanoid robots move closer to large-scale commercialization. Two other firms, Leju Robot and Deep Robotics, had their listing applications accepted in May.
China has identified the robotics industry as a key frontier for gaining a strategic technological edge. In the first half of 2026, China-developed quadruped robots accounted for nearly 70 percent of global sales, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
International Data Corporation, a market researcher, forecasts that global shipments of humanoid robots will exceed 510,000 units by 2030, implying a compound annual growth rate of almost 95 percent.
China's Unitree launches IPO process amid humanoid robotics boom
