Welding of the primary ring on the second block of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey has been completed.

The Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, a subsidiary of the Russian state corporation Rosatom, has completed welding of the main circulation pipeline on the second unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey. By joining the reactor, steam generator, and main circulation pumps into a single assembly, the second unit of Turkey's first nuclear power plant has successfully passed one of the most important and most demanding phases in the construction of the reactor facility

The welding process lasted 73 days and covered 32 pipe joints on a pipeline with a total length of 150 meters and wall thickness of 70 millimeters. All joints were subjected to high-temperature treatment and internal surface coating to protect against corrosion, after which strict quality control methods were applied, including ultrasonic and radiographic testing.

The CEO of Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, Sergej Buckih, noted that welding this pipeline has fully formed the primary circuit of the second unit. This has created prerequisites for the continuation of installing the accompanying pipelines, as well as for the preparation of upcoming tests and commissioning.

For the record, the Akkuyu plant is being built under the intergovernmental agreement between Turkey and Russia from 2010 according to a specific BOO model (Build-Own-Operate — build, own, operate), where Rosatom is not only the contractor but also the majority owner of the plant. At the site, four reactors of the type VVER-1200 with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts are being constructed simultaneously, and it is expected that upon completion the plant will cover about 10% of Turkey's total electricity needs. The first unit, according to plans, should be connected to the grid during this year.

In addition to Akkuyu, Turkey plans to build two more large power plants (Sinop and Thrace) and to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) with a total capacity of up to 5 GWe by 2050.

Comment

The technical progress on the second Akkuyu unit stands as a kind of evidence of Rosatom's engineering efficiency on the construction site itself, but this project also portrays the complex environment in which the Russian nuclear industry, in particular, today finds itself.

Because Rosatom is under multiple pressures: although the nuclear sector has long been exempt from direct and comprehensive Western sanctions due to the high reliance of many countries on Russian fuel and technology, Rosatom's international projects are suffering increasing indirect pressures. They mainly relate to complications in international payment flows, procurement of Western components (such as equipment for control systems and turbines which were originally contracted with European manufacturers) and the slowing of supply chains. Also, there is the issue of other types of geopolitical games – so we remind that Rosatom's projects in Hungary and Egypt are very often criticized and attacked – rightly or wrongly – by the media, and by the administration.

S.A.