Rosatom Service (Electric Power Division) and Haykakan Atomayin Elektrakayan (Armenian NPP) have completed the planned work for 2025 at unit 2 of the Armenian NPP (ANPP). The work was carried out as part of the project to further extend the life of the unit.
ANPP was built in the 1970s with two Soviet-supplied VVER-440-V230 units but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988. However, unit 2 was recommissioned with Russian help in 1995 following severe energy shortages. Unit 2 now accounts for some 39% of Armenia’s total electricity generation. Unit 1 is being decommissioned.
In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the plant’s service life to 2026. That work was also undertaken by Rosatom. In 2021, Rosatom Service and Rosatom institutes annealed the reactor vessel, restoring the metal properties of the casing by 85% enabling its further operation. The Armenian government subsequently adopted a resolution to start the process to extend operation until 2036 and in December 2023, Rosatom Service and ANPP signed an agreement for further co-operation.
That work is now underway. In 2025 work included examinations to assess fire safety, building structures and equipment. Based on the results of the survey, recommendations were made (including on replacing equipment).
Work has also begun to reconfigure the reactor core emergency cooling system Preparatory work was completed for the creation of new classifiers of system elements and equipment for the reactor plant. The first batch of samples was delivered to specialised research institutes to study the properties of the metal The data obtained during the tests will form the basis for assessing the state of the metal of the reactor vessel and will be used to justify the further safe operation of the unit.
In addition, work is underway to reassign the service life of the equipment and pipelines of the reactor installation for operation until 2031. A preliminary assessment of the residual life has already been completed and indicates that the non-replaceable equipment of the nuclear power plant has the resources to be able to continue operation beyond 2026.
