Turkey is home to the world's largest nuclear construction project — the Akkuyu NPP. This is a landmark event, as it is the first nuclear power plant in the country, and it will become a reliable source of energy, as well as contribute to the economic and social development of the region. The implementation of such a grandiose project is the starting point for the formation and development of a nuclear industry that is new to the country. Here are 10 interesting facts about the Akkuyu NPP.
Who is building the Akkuyu NPP?
In May 2010, the governments of Russia and Turkey concluded a cooperation agreement, which provides for the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in the Mersin province on the southern coast of Turkey.
The station will include four power units with VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 4800 MW. The project is estimated at approximately $22 billion. The first nuclear power plant in Turkey is being built by the Russian state corporation Rosatom.
Fact №1
VVER-1200 is the most modern, technologically advanced and safe Russian Generation 3+ reactor. It was created on the basis of versions of the VVER-1000 reactor, which were used in the construction of nuclear power plants in the 1990s and 2000s abroad: in Iran at the Bushehr NPP, in India at the Kudankulam NPP and in China at the Tianwan NPP.
The designers paid attention to improving each parameter of the reactor and introducing additional safety systems. These measures have significantly reduced the risk of radiation escaping from the sealed reactor compartment, known as the containment, in the event of any accidents and their combinations.
As a result, the capacity of the VVER-1200 has been increased by 20% compared to the VVER-1000 while maintaining the dimensions of the equipment. The service life is 60 years. The reactor is capable of operating without refueling for 18 months. In addition, the VVER-1200 has improved specific indicators.
This result was achieved due to the fact that during normal operation of the nuclear power plant, boron, which absorbs neutrons and can cause steel corrosion, is not added to its core. All neutron absorption is provided by control rods, which was not the case in pressurized water reactors of previous generations.
Fact №2
The first power unit of the Akkuyu NPP became the first industrial nuclear reactor in Turkey. By 2028, it is planned to launch all four power units of the new NPP. Their total output will be about 35 billion kilowatt-hours, which will be 10% of the total energy consumption of 80 million Turkey.
Fact №3
This nuclear power plant does not have traditional tower cooling towers: the reactor is cooled by the Mediterranean Sea. Cold water from the sea enters through the water intake channel to the pumping station, where it is pumped through the steam turbine condenser, heating up in the process. Then it is discharged through the discharge channel back into the sea.
After the launch of all power units, the station will annually heat the sea by 74 billion "thermal" kilowatt-hours. However, this will not greatly change the average water temperature near the station — by only half a degree.
Fact №4
The low-pressure rotors of the Akkuyu NPP steam turbine are among the largest in the world.
The weight of one rotor is 225 tons. The length of each rotor blade is more than two meters, and the weight is more than 100 kilograms. The total capacity of the steam turbine is 1255 MW, its mass is 4000 tons, and the length of the turbine with the generator is over 60 meters.
These impressive dimensions and mass are not just a desire for records. Each power unit is equipped with a low-speed steam turbine that will rotate at a speed of 25 revolutions per second for decades. It operates on steam with increased temperature and pressure, which provides Akkuyu with a record efficiency among pressurized water reactors – 35.9%. This allows you to get 10% more energy from a ton of uranium compared to previous generations of reactors.
Fact №5
More people work at the construction of the station than live in San Marino: 34 thousand specialists are building Akkuyu, while the population of San Marino is 33.9 thousand people. This number of specialists is rare for modern projects. For comparison, according to historians, the construction of the Pyramid of Cheops was carried out by only four thousand people.
Fact №6
The total volume of concrete poured at the construction site has already exceeded the volume for a large international airport. By the time construction is completed, several million tons of concrete, reinforced with hundreds of thousands of tons of reinforcement, will be used here. For comparison, the volume of the Pyramid of Cheops is only 2.5 million cubic meters.
Fact №7
Two of the world's most powerful Liebherr LR 13000 crawler self-propelled cranes operate at Akkuyu. Each of them is capable of lifting up to 3000 tons, and at the same time the crane can freely move from one place to another.
The lifting height is 149 meters. The same as the Pyramid of Cheops immediately after construction.
The own weight of the device is 3500 tons.
Boom reach — 129 meters.
Fact №8
Fresh nuclear fuel for the first power unit has already been delivered to the Akkuyu NPP. VVER-1200 reactors, which will be installed at this station, consume fuel very economically — about a ton per year.
A year and a half after loading, the fuel is changed, after which it is sent to holding pools, where it is located for at least nine years. Only after that, the containers are moved to a dry storage facility on the territory of the NPP, and then for processing. At this stage, plutonium is extracted from the spent fuel, which will be used in new reactors, such as the already operating BN-800 or the BREST under construction.
Fact №9
Like all modern Russian reactors, the four power units of Akkuyu have double protection. The inner shell is designed for high pressure, and the outer shell, up to one and a half meters thick, is able to withstand a hurricane, a ten-meter tsunami, and even the fall of a large aircraft in a dive.
Fact №10
The carbon footprint of the new NPP will be approximately 11-12 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of energy generated. This is comparable to the indicators of wind power plants and significantly lower than that of solar or hydroelectric power plants. For comparison, coal and gas thermal power plants leave a carbon footprint measured in hundreds of grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour.
As a reminder, in the summer of 2024, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak publicly accused Siemens of deliberately disrupting the supply of equipment for the Turkish Akkuyu NPP, owned by the state corporation Rosatom. Despite the difficulties encountered, a way out of the situation was found: the necessary components for construction were supplied by countries friendly to Russia.
Russia will launch all four power units of the Akkuyu NPP in 2028. The first power unit should be operational by the end of 2025.
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