Installation of elements of the passive heat removal system (SPOT – Sistemi Passivnovo Otvoda Tepla) has been completed on the dome of the reactor building of unit 1 at the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Türkiye while steam generators have been manufactured for unit 4.
The plant will eventually host four Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors. The pouring of first concrete for unit 1 took place in April 2018, for unit 2 in June 2020, for unit 3 in March 2021, and for unit 4 in July 2022. Rosatom is constructing the reactors according to a build-own-operate model. Work continues simultaneously at the facilities of all four units and auxiliary structures.
At unit 1, which is scheduled for launch later in 2026, SPOT installation is one of the final activities. Specialists gradually installed a deflector, heat exchangers, electromagnetic devices – a total of about 90 equipment components and building structures. Air ducts were installed on the dome and SPOT floor slabs were concreted.
“We have completed the installation of passive heat removal system structures at the first power unit. This is the result of coordinated work of specialists over many months and a key stage in preparing the power unit for launch operations,” said Sergei Butskikh, Director General of project company Akkuyu Nukleer. “SPOT is one of the many safety systems of modern power units with VVER-1200 reactors. The system operates due to natural physical processes that do not require a source of power supply or operator intervention.”
SPOT consists of four independent channels, one for each steam generator. Each channel includes two heat exchangers, steam-condensate duct pipelines and air ducts with gates and a regulator. The operation of the system is based on the principle of natural circulation: atmospheric air enters the heat exchangers, heats up, and rises through air ducts into the outlet manifold located above the dome of the reactor building. From there it returns to the atmosphere, thereby cooling the reactor compartment. The system is designed for long-term heat removal from the reactor core into the atmosphere when the power supply sources are unavailable. The system was first installed at the new power units of the Novovoronezh NPP – reference NPP for Akkuyu.
Meanwhile, at the Atommash plant in Volgodonsk (part of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division) in Russia’s Rostov region, the production of a set of steam generators and internal devices for unit 4 has been completed. Each steam generator, weighing 340 tonnes, is 14 metres long with a diameter of 4 metres.
“Completing the production of a significant part of the main equipment for the fourth unit of the Akkuyu NPP is an excellent result of the coordinated work of our team and our partners,” said Atommash Director Maxim Zhidkov. “We see in this project not just the fulfilment of a contract, but a contribution to strengthening international cooperation and not only in the energy sector. We are proud that Atommash’s products will become part of the first nuclear power plant in Türkiye and will serve as a reliable source of clean energy for millions of people.”
Turkish Minister of Energy Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters that Türkiye has no problems with Russia in the implementation of the Akkuyu NPP. “Funding for the first and second power units has been secured. We are moving in the same direction as Russia,” he said. He noted that Russia has expressed interest in the project to build a second Turkish NPP in the Black Sea province of Sinop.
“The Russians also have a great interest in Sinop,” he said, adding that Türkiye is also working with China, the Republic of Korea, and Canada on the project and is considering “alternative countries and technologies”.
