Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division has met all the audit requirements of project company Paks II Atomerőmű Zrt and has therefore been approved to deliver nuclear steam generator equipment for the Paks II NPP. Experts from Paks II Ltd, accompanied by supervisors from the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (OAH – Országos Atomenergia Hivatal), conducted an audit at Rosatom Mechanical Engineering, which coordinates the delivery of most nuclear equipment for units 5&6 of the Paks NPP (also known as Paks II 1&2).
The Paks II project was launched in 2014 by an inter-governmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors to be supplied by Rosatom. The contract was supported by a Russian state loan to finance the majority of the project. OAH issued the licence for the units in August 2022. The currently operating Paks NPP comprises four VVER-440 power units launched between 1982 and 1987. Paks provides half of all generated and one third of the consumed electricity in Hungary.
The document, issued by Paks II Atomerőmű Zrt, confirms that Rosatom Mechanical Engineering fully complies with the relevant requirements and based on valid certification, the company is authorised to supply nuclear steam generator equipment for the two new units. During the audit, no non-conformities were identified by the experts from Paks II.
The statement added that the manufacturing companies within Rosatom’s engineering division are currently producing the VVER-1200 reactors. Production of the reactor pressure vessel raw castings for unit 5 began in 2024 and those for unit 6 began this year. Production of the internal components for the unit 5 reactor also began in 2025.
Before starting this work, the factories involved in producing equipment for the Paks II obtained the relevant nuclear certifications and permits. The first audit at the company managing Rosatom’s manufacturing division was conducted in 2018. The statement noted that the Paks expansion is the first modern Russian-designed nuclear power plant project built with VVER-1200 reactors in the European Union.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s Foreign Affair and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó told a hearing of Parliament’s sustainable development committee that a total of 3.5m cubic metres of earth needed to be removed in the area of the two planned units, 2m cubic metres of which had already been lifted. He added that work will begin on the nuclear island of unit six at the end of the year. “In terms of soil consolidation, we are talking about an area of 17 hectares, we have to insert 75,000 soil consolidation piles into the ground, of which 43,000 are already in place. This work has already been completed under the area that will support the nuclear island of units 5&6, and soil consolidation in the additional areas will continue at the end of this year,” he said. He added that the production of component with a long-lead production time is taking place in parallel with the construction, in six cities in Russia, Germany and France.
