China plans to launch commercial operations at the world’s first small modular reactor (SMR) to generate nuclear energy as early as in the first half of 2026, according to the president of the China Institute of Nuclear Industry Strategy. The Linglong One reactor was the first SMR to be approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2016. Linglong One, based in Hainan province in China, earlier this year completed its primary circuit cold functional test, the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said in…