Akkuyu 1 set for next stage of pre-commissioning activities

Alexei Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, said during a visit to the site that the aim was to obtain a licence and "begin launch operations by the end of the year", according to in-house publication Strana Rosatom.

It also reported that he said the control room "already matches that of an operating plant, not one under construction".

Meanwhile the unit's Automated Process Control System (APCS) is also being prepared for pre-commissioning and adjustment works to proceed. In total the APCS at the first unit "consists of more than 42,000 components manufactured in accordance with the requirements for seismic resistance to ensure safe operation of the plant in any conditions", Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant said.

Akkuyu Nuclear JSC CEO Sergei Butckikh, said: "Reaching the stage of preparing the system for pre-commissioning and adjustment operations is the result of the coordinated efforts of a large number of specialists from various fields: installers, adjusters, and engineers."

Cold hydraulic tests, which began in June following the loading of dummy fuel, confirm the "tightness and strength of the reactor system components, perform circulation flushing of the primary and secondary circuits, establish water chemistry, and check the thermal-hydraulic, strength, vibration, and dynamic characteristics of the reactor system and primary circuit equipment for compliance with design values".

These are followed by the hot tests to confirm that equipment and systems are ready for operating conditions, including checking the operation of the four main circulation pumps at temperatures of at least 260 degrees Celsius. Both cold and hot tests take place before the loading of nuclear fuel in the commissioning process.

Background

Akkuyu, in the southern Mersin province, is Turkey's first nuclear power plant. Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom is building four VVER-1200 reactors, under a so-called BOO (build-own-operate) model. According to the terms of the 2010 Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, the aim was for the commissioning of the first power unit of the nuclear power plant to take place within seven years from receipt of all permits for the construction of the unit.

The licence for the construction of the first unit was issued in 2018, with construction work beginning that year. The first steam generators were shipped to the site - for unit 1 - in August 2020. Nuclear fuel was delivered to the site in April 2023. The aim has been for unit 1 to begin supplying Turkey's energy system during 2026.

When the 4,800 MWe plant is completed, it is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.

Turkey has plans for a second nuclear power plant, at Sinop, and has also been in talks with China about plans for a third plant, in the Thrace region in the country's north-west.

The country is also developing plans for small modular reactors, with the aim of adding 5 GWe of capacity by 2050 - which would mean the equivalent of at least 16 individual SMRs.