Amec Foster Wheeler is to collaborate with China Nuclear Engineering & Construction (Group) Corporation (CNEC) on the next generation of reactors.

The wide-ranging agreement with the Chinese nuclear power plant constructor covers potential collaboration in the nuclear industry. It is the first time CNEC has agreed to collaborate with a global engineering consultancy on the deployment of high-temperature reactors in the UK and internationally.

“High-temperature reactors have great potential to provide safe, clean and sustainable energy for the future,” said Tom Jones, vice president of Amec Foster Wheeler’s Clean Energy business. “We hope that our collaboration with CNEC will help the UK and China to realise the potential benefits of this tremendously important technology.”

Zu Bin, vice president of CNEC said: “The high-temperature gas cooled reactor is inherently safe and can generate electricity efficiently and competitively for power generation, heat supply and desalination.”

The agreement was signed in Beijing as part of a nuclear industry trade mission organised by UK Trade & Investment and the China-Britain Business Council.

Amec Foster Wheeler and CNEC have committed themselves to work together to develop opportunities in nuclear power development, construction, operation and decommissioning projects globally.

They will also identify specialist knowledge that each can contribute towards reactor outage management, operation, ageing management, lifetime extension and upgrading of existing units. The scope of the agreement also covers training, waste management and decommissioning.

It is expected that CNEC will make use of Amec Foster Wheeler’s new High-Temperature Facility in the UK, which will carry out research and testing on materials capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 1,000°C.