Bill Gates is seen at Peking University on March 24, 2017. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

US billionaire Bill Gates has been elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering, China’s highest honor in the field of engineering.

The Microsoft co-founder, 62, is one of 18 new foreign members, the academy said on Monday. He is the only one who does not work at a university or research institute.

Gates was nominated for his work at TerraPower, a nuclear reactor design company he helped establish in 2008.

In late 2015, the company signed a deal with China National Nuclear Corp to build a reactor unit in Fujian province. The project is scheduled to start next year and be completed in 2025.

The academy now has 66 foreign academicians.