China will start commercial operation of its indigenous small modular reactor (SMR), the Linglong-1, in the first half of 2026, an official with the research arm of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said, according to local press reports.

Also known as the APC100, the Generation III reactor was the first SMR to be approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2016 and looks set to be the world’s first onshore commercial SMR to begin operation. Russia is operating commercial SMRs on the floating nuclear plant Akademik Lomonisov.