Core meltdown-free safety features of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed module

<p indent="0mm">The world’s first demonstration plant of a high-temperature reactor with a pebble-bed module (HTR-PM) was built in Shidao Bay, Shandong Province, China, with two reactor modules connected to one steam turbine. This plant received its operating license in August 2021 and was connected to the grid in December 2021. After summarizing the basic safety functions, argumentation logic, evidence and verification, and a long-term systematic review of China’s nuclear safety regulations, this paper outlines how to achieve the core meltdown-proof safety characteristics of HTR-PM according to the actual grid-connected nuclear power plant and the laws of nature from theoretical and practical perspectives.