Turkey’s first new nuclear unit begins cold hydraulic tests at Akkuyu
Akkuyu 1 has entered cold hydraulic tests, a key commissioning gate after dummy fuel assemblies were loaded on June 9 and before hot tests and fuel loading.
Cold hydraulic tests have started at Akkuyu 1, pushing Turkey’s first new nuclear unit into one of the last big commissioning gates before hot testing, fuel loading, and startup. Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev visited the Mersin province site on Monday to review progress and said the overnight tests would finish within weeks.
Rosatom said construction on Unit 1 was complete, and the current phase will verify tightness and structural strength, flush the primary and secondary circuits, set water chemistry, and measure thermal-hydraulic, vibration, and dynamic performance against design values. Those results have to line up before the project moves into hot tests, which simulate operating conditions and confirm readiness ahead of the final fuel-loading phase.
The timing follows a concrete milestone on June 9, when AKKUYU NÜKLEER A.Ş. completed loading dummy fuel assemblies into the Unit 1 reactor vessel. Rosatom delivered the first batch of nuclear fuel to Akkuyu on April 27, 2023. If the remaining tests and inspections stay on track, the plant could still move toward first power in 2026, but any slip in commissioning would push that timeline back.
Akkuyu is being built by Rosatom under a build-own-operate model through Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, with four Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors planned on the site. The project is described by its operator as Turkey’s first nuclear power plant and the largest nuclear construction project in the world. When complete, the plant is expected to provide about 10% of Turkey’s electricity, supply more than 12 million consumers across more than 10 provinces, and add the country’s first domestic nuclear generation capability.
Unit 1 employs 1,930 people, and more than 40% are Turkish citizens. Construction began with first concrete for Unit 1 in April 2018, followed by Unit 2 in June 2020, Unit 3 in March 2021, and Unit 4 in July 2022. With cold hydraulic tests now under way, Akkuyu has moved from pouring concrete and assembling systems to the more unforgiving part of the timeline, where every leak check and vibration reading has to hold before the reactor can take the next step.
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