A group of Hungarian trainees underwent training at the site of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant in Russia. This marked the final stage of a two-month course held at the Saint Petersburg branch of Rosatom’s Technical Academy.
The training was conducted under the guidance of experienced instructors from the Leningrad II NPP and experts from Rosatom’s Technical Academy. The trainees included Hungarian nuclear professionals who will subsequently train personnel for the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant using a full-scale simulator. The training course helped solidify professional competencies they had acquired before. The Hungarian team practiced scenarios involving deviations from normal operating conditions and developed teamwork skills necessary to operate the reactor control panel.
The Leningrad NPP, where the on-site training took place, is one of Russia’s largest nuclear power plants by installed capacity (4,400 MW) and the only one with two different reactor types, operating two power units with RBMK-1000 reactors (thermal-neutron, graphite-moderated, channel-type nuclear reactors with 1,000 MW of electric power) and two power units with Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors (pressurized water reactors with 1,200 MW of electric power).
“The completed training is the result of well-coordinated work by experts. The program was launched back in 2022 and was specifically developed for our Hungarian customer. Following the training, the Hungarian team will participate in preparing key personnel for the Paks II NPP. The training program is based on the systematic approach to training and meets the strictest requirements set by the Hungarian party,” said Inna Robotko, Project Manager at RosEnergoAtom.
“It is extremely important for us to have a sufficient number of well-trained personnel ready for the commissioning of new power units. Our colleagues are currently gaining experience that we will pass on to our successors for decades to come, further enhancing the recognition of nuclear profession in our country,” Krisztián Szarvas, Deputy CEO of Paks II Zrt, commented.
On-site training at an operating nuclear power plant in Russia is a key component of the international HR development program for the Paks II NPP. It demonstrated a high level of cooperation between Russian organizations and foreign partners and confirmed Russia’s leadership in nuclear education and personnel training.
“AtomStroyExport is proud that the Russian party unconditionally fulfills all of its obligations in respect of the Hungarian project despite external restrictions. The very fact that the training of key personnel for Paks II began before the first concrete was poured demonstrates Rosatom’s special attention to customer requirements and enables the establishment of an effective personnel training system for the Hungarian project,” said Vladislav Smolsky, Head of the Paks II Personnel Training Center at the Hungarian office of AtomStroyExport.
The Russian nuclear corporation is implementing a large-scale program for the construction of nuclear power plants both in Russia and abroad. The Paks II NPP is the first nuclear power plant being built to the advanced Russian VVER-1200 design in the European Union. This nuclear project is backed by the Russian-Hungarian intergovernmental agreement of January 14, 2014, and three main contracts for the construction of the new plant. The general construction license for the Paks II NPP was issued by the Hungarian regulator in August 2022. The fact of obtaining the construction license proves that the plant meets the Hungarian and European safety standards. Identical VVER-1200 reactors are in operation at four power units in Russia and two units in Belarus.
Photo by: ASE, AEM Specialstal, Leningrad NPP
