“2024 was a year of both tough challenges and great achievements for Akkuyu,” said Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev, visiting the Turkish construction site in December. The start of full-scale commissioning operations at the first unit to prepare it for criticality was an important milestone passed by Turkey’s first nuclear power plant last year. Active construction works were underway at the other three units. Here is our short review of 2024.

Construction

In February, a clean room — ​an isolated space for the trial assembly of the reactor — ​was organized at Unit 1. The clean room will be maintained throughout the service life of the nuclear power plant.

In March, a cantilever truss was installed at Akkuyu Unit 4. One of the three parts of the core catcher, it is an important link in the safety system, protecting its body and service lines.

In April, pre-commissioning operations began at Unit 1 as the spent fuel pool passed tightness tests. A gas and oil laboratory began to work at the site. It will perform gas analysis of the ambient air.

In May, workers finished the installation of a roof over the turbine building of Unit 2. Horizontal moisture separator reheaters (MSRs) were installed in the turbine hall of Unit 1. These horizontal MSRs, which are conventionally made vertical, were designed specially for the Akkuyu NPP. The improved modification made it possible to put two conventional MSRs into a single body. A containment airlock was also installed at Unit 1. It is intended to bring operation and maintenance equipment inside the reactor building.

In June, a new simulator for the training of electrical staff was delivered to the Akkuyu NPP. The simulator will be part of the training center for the plant’s operating personnel. While replicating the station’s electrics, it uses power circuit voltage that is safe for the personnel.

In July, concreting of a foundation slab for the pumping station was completed at Unit 3. Such stations are designed to supply sea water for the primary operation processes at the nuclear power plant and to remove heat from the auxiliary equipment of the turbine island.

The first phase of installation works started on the reactor instrumentation and control (I&C) system at Unit 1. It collects and processes data from the sensors located, among others, in the reactor core. Also installed was a containment prestressing system, which adds more strength to the concrete structures of the containment.

In August, the lower dome section of the outer containment shell (OCS) was installed at Unit 1, and so was the fifth tier (an intermediate element between the cylindrical and dome parts) of the inner containment shell (ICS) at Unit 3.

In September, a water intake bucket of Akkuyu’s first onshore pumping station was filled with water. The final OCS section — ​a dome — ​was assembled on top of Unit 1. Two emergency core cooling system tanks were installed at Unit 2. Concreting of the foundation for the turbine was finished at Unit 3.

In October, workers finished assembly and installation of four electric motors for the reactor coolant pumps that circulate primary coolant and remove heat from the reactor core.

The last of the two low-pressure rotors was installed in the turbine building of Unit 1. Weighing 255 tonnes, it is one of the key components of the turbine.

In November, workers finished concreting the outer containment dome on the reactor building of Unit 1. The work lasted more than 100 days. This reinforced concrete structure will safely protect the reactor from external impacts.

In December, workers finished installing the main components of the reactor pit, a dry shield and a support frame, at Unit 4. They will ensure maximum reliability of the reactor operation.

At Unit 1, workers installed the turbine and jacking gear, and the turbine shaft was set in motion for the first time at low speed. Alexey Likhachev, who visited the site, called it one of the key milestones passed by the project. “We will continue to do our best to put Turkey’s first nuclear power unit into operation in the near future. It will reliably supply millions of consumers with low-carbon electricity,” he said.

Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar praised the progress made in the past year. “We need nuclear power to meet Turkey’s growing energy demand and to achieve the net zero goal by 2053. The Akkuyu NPP project is one of the largest projects of our country. We, Turkey and Russia, are working on this project together with all stakeholders as a single team,” Alparslan Bayraktar said.

Documents

In mid-­March, Akkuyu Nuclear’s management system was certified to meet ISO standards. Independent audit was conducted by the Turkish certification body Kalitest.

In June, a peer review team of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group visited the Akkuyu NPP site for the second time. The experts spent five days at the site, inspecting principal facilities of the nuclear power plant under construction, and issued their recommendations afterwards.

In July, Akkuyu passed a pre-accreditation audit by the Turkish Standards Institution to prove compliance with the international ISO standards. The auditors praised the high level of staff competence and quality of technical equipment.

Business activity

In March, a Turkish delegation took part in the Atomexpo 2024 international forum. Speaking at the plenary session, Alparslan Bayraktar said that the government was planning to increase nuclear capacity, for which at least another four units would be needed. He also emphasized the interest in small-­scale nuclear generation solutions and the importance of developing the country’s human resource potential.

Rosatom was a partner to the Nuclear Power Plants 6th Expo and 10th Summit NPPES 2024 held in Istanbul in July. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Anton Dedusenko, Deputy Chairman of the Board at Akkuyu Nuclear, said: “We are closely following Turkey’s nuclear energy development plans. Large and small-­scale generation facilities, each performing different functions, would complement each other, and Rosatom has solutions for power generation of any scale, as well as for many other applications.”

In October, Rosatom was the main partner to the 18th International Congress and Expo Energy Is Future (EIF) 2024 held in Istanbul. Russian nuclear professionals and their foreign colleagues discussed the future of low-carbon generation and the role of nuclear power in addressing the Turkish energy agenda.

In early October, Rosatom took part in Technofest 2024, the largest technology festival in Turkey. This year, the company’s booth was dedicated to the Nuclear for Everyone concept. Over 50,000 people visited the booth during the five days of Technofest.