Latest schedule sees first power generation by end of 2026
A complete set of four steam generators has been delivered for Unit 4 of the Akkuyu nuclear power station under construction in Turkey’s southern Mersin province, project company Akkuyu Nuclear said.
The steam generators were manufactured at the Atommash plant in Volgodonsk, Russia, part of Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom’s machine-building division, and transported about 3,000 km by sea to the construction site, a statement said.
In a pressurised water reactor (PWR) system, the steam generators transfer heat produced by the nuclear reaction to turn demineralised water into steam which is used to power the turbines.
The Akkuyu steam generators each has a diameter of about four metres, a height of about 14 metres, and weighs about 340 tonnes.
Rosatom said its machine-building division has manufactured more than 7,000 tonnes of equipment for the four-unit Akkuyu project, including four VVER-1200 reactor pressure vessels and 16 steam generators.
Manufacture of a steam generator takes about two years and involves welding of the vessel, installation of heat-exchange tubes and internal components, followed by hydraulic and vacuum testing before shipment.
Akkuyu, Turkey’s first nuclear station, will have four Russia-supplied Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor units. Construction of Akkuyu-4 started in July 2022.
The first reactor unit, Akkuyu-1, was expected to be online in late 2025 or early 2026, but the latest schedule eyes first power generation by the end of 2026.
According to reports in December 2025, Russia had provided an additional $9bn (€7.7bn) for the Akkuyu plant, with total financing valued at $20bn.
