Russia also confirms arrival of nuclear fuel for Akkuyu-2
The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) has been installed at the Akkuyu-3 nuclear power plant under construction in Turkey, project company Akkuyu Nuclear said.
The cylindrical RPV, which measures 11.4 metres in length and 5.7 metres in width, was produced by the Volgodonsk branch of AEM-Technologies of Atommash, part of Atomenergomash, the machine production division of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
The 350-tonne RPV was delivered by sea to the construction site in November 2023 and has since been held in storage.
The RPV has now been installed using the ‘open top’ method, which allows large equipment to be loaded into the sealed reactor building using a heavy-duty crane before the reactor dome is closed. It can significantly cut the time taken to carry out installation work.
Akkuyu Nuclear also said that at the end of December, a batch of nuclear fuel for Akkuyu-2 arrived onsite.
The fuel was manufactured at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, part of Rosatom’s Tvel nuclear fuel company. One load for a VVER-1200 reactor consists of 163 fuel assemblies.
Rosatom is supplying four of its Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurise water reactor units for Akkuyu, on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast.
Construction of Akkuyu-1 began in April 2018. The unit was originally scheduled to be online in 2023, but latest projections suggest this is now likely to be 2025.
A further unit at the site is expected to start every year afterwards with all fur unts in operation in 2028.
December 2024 aerial view of constructon at the Akkuyu nuclear power station in Turkey. Courtesy Akkuyu Nuclear.
