TAIYUAN, March 26 (Xinhua) -- China's Taiyuan Iron & Steel Group (TISCO) announced Tuesday that it has produced a huge seamless circular forging with high-purity stainless steel, which will be used in a 4th-generation nuclear power unit.

According to the company, the piece, 15.6 meters in diameter and 150 tonnes in weight, is the world's largest in terms of size and weight.

It will be used as the support ring for the core component of the pilot reactor for a 60 million kilowatts fast neutron reactor in Xiapu, Fujian Province.

The forging is required to be able to bear a weight of 7,000 tonnes and a temperature of 650 degrees Celsius, and operate for four decades continuously.

TISCO, located in Taiyuan of Shanxi Province, has supplied more than 50,000 tonnes of steel for nuclear power projects, including 45,000 tonnes of stainless steel.