Posted on 28 Dec 2010
Baosteel’s joint venture Baoyin Steel Tube Corp (Baoyin) has fulfilled its initial order for steam generator tubes from a local nuclear power project. On 26 December, Baoyin held a ceremony in its works in eastern China’s Jiangsu province for the delivery of the order of 150 tonnes of steam generator tubes (Inconel 690 U-shaped tubes). This first batch of tubes are supplied for the No.1 unit of the $4bn Guangxi Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant project in south-western China. SBB learns from a steel analyst that the 150 t order is the full amount of tubes required for a one-million KW nuclear unit. Baoyin is a joint venture formed in 2006 between Baosteel, Jiangsu Yinhuan Precision Tube (Yinhuan) and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG, China’s major builder of nuclear reactors), SBB notes. The plant was commissioned in December 2009 with a capacity of 750 tonnes/year. China’s booming nuclear development is expected to boost relative nuclear demand in the next five years. Targeting import substitution and high profit margins, more domestic pipe makers are expanding their facilities to produce U-shaped steam generator tubes, which is a key component in a "nuclear island". China’s Jiuli Hi-Tech Metals Co (Jiuli) is scheduled to commission a 500 t/y steam generator tube plant by the end of 2011, while another seamless pipe maker Jiangsu Changbao Steel Tube also has an initial plan to start building a plant for similar products in 2011, SBB learns. Baoyin has also started the second phase of a project to boost its capacity to 1,500 t/y by 2012.
