China plans to power a world-class petrochemical complex under construction with ultra-high-temperature steam from an unprecedented three-reactor nuclear system.

The steam can reach up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 Fahrenheit) – high enough to break molecules apart.

Located in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, the project combines two third-generation Hualong One pressurised water reactors with one fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) for heating and electricity generation.

Never before has a single facility integrated multiple generations of nuclear technology to simultaneously provide both power and ultra-high-temperature process heat at industrial scale.

Construction of the nuclear island for unit 1 of the Xuwei nuclear heating and power project’s first phase began on Friday with the pouring of the first tank of concrete, according to mainland media reports.