Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant has begun fuel loading tests in its first reactor ahead of its official commissioning

Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, has entered the final phase of its preparations for commissioning, having begun tests to load mock-up fuel assemblies into the first reactor, BalkanEngineer.com learned from DailySabah.com. This test represents one of the most important steps before the actual commissioning of the power unit, with the aim of verifying the reliability of the reactor systems and fuel transfer equipment.

During the current tests, specialists are using precise mock-ups of the actual fuel assemblies, which fully match them in weight, dimensions, and configuration but do not contain nuclear material. The procedure allows for testing the precision of the reloading machine, the integrity of the reactor circuit, and the functionality of the control and protection systems under real-world conditions. The successful completion of these simulations will pave the way for obtaining the final permits to load real nuclear fuel into the reactor core.

The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project, located on the Mediterranean coast in the province of Mersin, is being built by Rosatom under a "build-own-operate" model. The plant will consist of four modern power units with VVER-1200 reactors, with a total installed capacity of 4,800 MW. Upon full completion, the nuclear power plant is expected to cover about 10% of Turkey’s total electricity consumption, which will reduce the country’s dependence on imported energy resources and contribute significantly to reducing carbon emissions in the region.

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