At the construction site of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, one of the key stages of preparing the first power unit for subsequent launch has taken place. 163 dummy fuel assemblies, which fully correspond to standard nuclear fuel in their characteristics, were installed in the reactor of the first power unit.

The dummies replicate real fuel assemblies in design, mass, and geometric parameters, but do not contain nuclear materials. Their use allows checking the operation of the reactor plant equipment, practicing technological operations, and confirming the readiness of systems for the next stages of commissioning.

Like the real fuel for the first unit of the Akkuyu NPP, the dummy assemblies were manufactured at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant. After completing this stage, specialists will be able to proceed to hot and cold testing. During these tests, the functioning of the main systems of the reactor plant is checked in various operating modes without initiating a nuclear chain reaction.

The loading of dummy fuel assemblies is considered one of the final steps before the physical launch of the reactor. It is the physical launch that opens the next stage of commissioning the power unit, when nuclear fuel is loaded into the core for the first time and a controlled chain reaction begins.