According to the statement, production of the 330-tonne and 12-metre long RPV took almost three years.
In a nuclear power plant, the RPV is one of the largest reactor components, a vessel containing the nuclear reactor coolant, core shroud, and the reactor core and fuel.
Atommash’s production site is near Volgodonsk in southwest Russia. The statement said the Akkuyu-1 RPV will be transported by road to a port near Volgodonsk on the Don River. From there it wis likely to be shipped to southwest Turkey via the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.
One month ago, Atommash shipped all four steam generation for Akkuyu-1, meaning all large-size equipment for the plant has been manufactured. In late August 2020, Russia also delivered the core catcher for Akkuyu-1.
The $20bn Akkuyu nuclear power station, the first commercial nuclear power station in Turkey, is being built near Mersin on the country’s southern Mediterranean coast under a contract signed with Russia in 2010.The station will have four Generation III+ VVER-1200 units, with the first expected to come online in 2023 and a further unit starting every year afterwards.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, construction of Akkuyu-1 began in April 2018 and of Akkuyu-2 in April 2020.
