Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (President: Hiroshi Tomono) and Sumitomo Corp. (President: Motoyuki Oka) have received a ¥1 billion order from a Chinese company for steam generator tubes to be used at Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant.
The deal marks the two Japanese companies' first receipt of an order for the nuclear power plant in China.

The tubes will be delivered to Shanghai Boiler Co., a Chinese company, and will be assembled in steam generators being installed in Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant.

When the heat that is created inside a nuclear reactor is transferred to the primary coolant of the reactor, the coolant will become hot. The heat created in the primary coolant is then transferred to the secondary coolant, leading to the generation of steam. A steam generator tube is necessary in that heat exchange process. The tube is made of precious materials, with 60% Ni content.

China plans to construct 26 nuclear reactors with a combined power generation capacity of 27 million kilowatts in the future in response to the shortage of electricity suffered by the country in recent years. The Chinese market for steam generator tubes has growth potential, with demand of SG tubes estimated at about ¥40 billion. This deal was very significant for Sumitomo Metal Industries and Sumitomo Corp. as their first foothold in the Chinese market.