Hot metal for Akkuyu 4

Monday, 4 July 2022

Pictures from the plant show workers looking on as a pipe billet is maintained at temperatures between 800 and 1040°C during a process in which it is flattened into a square with the aid of a 10,000-tonne press as well as a 15,000-tonne press.

After inspections, a circle will be cut from the 6 square metre sheet and go on to form a seamless domed bottom for the reactor pressure vessel.

Akkuyu is a new nuclear power plant on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Russia's state atomic energy corporation Rosatom is building four VVER-1200 reactors at Akkuyu, under a so-called BOO (build-own-operate) model. Construction of units 1-3 began in April 2018, April 2020 and March 2021, respectively. Akkuyu Nuclear received a construction licence for unit 4 in October 2021. The first unit is scheduled to generate power in 2023, subject to further approvals from the Nuclear Regulatory Authority. The 4800 MWe plant is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.