The reactor will be tested with real load in Akkuyu

Final tests will begin in a few hours on the first unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant being built in Türkiye. At this stage, the reactor will be tested with temperature and pressure in real operating conditions. In other words, the power plant is going through one of the most difficult tests before it produces electricity.

Hot operating test at Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

Rosatom President Aleksey Likhachev made the statement to Channel One. The name of the test is hot operation, that is, testing the reactor at real operating values. According to Likhachev, the test; temperature, pressure and all volumetric properties. These are actual operating values ​​at full power.

Likhachev's words are as follows: "The latest tests will start in a few hours." The unit needs to carry the entire load. In addition, this load covers the most difficult maneuver regimes.

Structure of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

Akkuyu is Türkiye's first nuclear power plant. Its construction is undertaken by Russia's state company Rosatom. The project is carried out with the Build-Own-Operate model. In this model, the company builds, owns and operates the power plant.

There are four units in the plan. Each of them will use a 3+ generation Russian-designed VVER reactor. Moreover, each of the units has a power of 1200 MW. In summary, the basic information of the power plant is as follows:

The first nuclear power plant: Türkiye

Model: Build-Own-Operate

Number of units: 4

Reactor type: VVER, 3+ generation

Power per unit: 1200 MW

Likhachev did not give an exact time when the testing would begin, only saying it would start in a few hours. However, the commissioning date of the unit was not included in the statement. Therefore, it is not yet clear when the power plant will start producing electricity.