Atomenergomash (Rosatom’s engineering division) began acceptance of turbine room equipment for the first unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction in Turkey.

Engineering, design and delivery of the turbine hall equipment is carried out by a joint venture of Atomenergomash (AEM) and General Electric - Turbine Technologies AAEM (AAEM), and manufacturing is carried out at the enterprises of AEM and GE. Atomenergomash has overall responsibility for the complete supply of equipment to Akkuyu for both a nuclear steam generating unit (NPPU) and a turbine hall based on the Arabelle low-speed turbine.

The acceptance procedure began for the high and medium pressure cylinder rotor of the Arabelle steam turbine, after the turbine, manufactured by GE Steam Power at the Belfort plant in France, was delivered to AEM four months ahead of schedule. This was despite two government mandated lockdowns as a result of the global pandemic in 2020.

The manufacturing of the equipment began in June 2019. To ensure the safety of its employees working on the factory floor, strong safety protocols were put in place including: social distancing whenever possible, the necessary PPE for safe work, including gloves, hydroalcoholic solutions and FFP2 masks for those in close proximity as well as additional cleaning of the equipment between shifts.

Atomenergomash CEO Andrey Nikipelov said: "For the first time ever, the enterprises of Rosatom's Mechanical Engineering Division involved in the Akkuyu project, have started to produce turbine island equipment in accordance with European standards. This is the outcome of successful strategic partnership between two heavy manufacturing giants - Atomenergomash of Rosatom and GE. As the project was progressing, we set up an effective coordination between our companies, and we will certainly capitalise on this invaluable experience when developing our expertise as the supplier of both, nuclear and conventional islands."

Ilya Vergizaev, General Director of AAEM, emphasised: “For Atomenergomash, AAEM and GE, this is a significant event that confirms our ability to ensure the production of turbine equipment of safety class 3. AAEM has established itself as an important participant in international projects with developed high-tech competencies both in the design of NPP turbine island equipment and in the development of the latest production technologies."

AAEM was established in 2007 to complete the turbine rooms of Russian-designed nuclear power plants using GE Arabelle steam turbine technology.

Since 2017, AAEM  has been implementing a project to supply all the equipment for the Akkuyu NPP turbine hall. GE will manufacture the main equipment, including the Arabelle low speed steam turbine, the GIGATOP four-pole turbine generator and condenser evacuation system equipment. Pumps, heat exchangers and other auxiliary equipment will be manufactured at AEM enterprises - ZiO-Podolsk,  TsKBM, Ganz, ARAKO, ATM, and  NPO TsNIITMASH.

"It's a significant milestone for our partner, AAEM, our customer, Atomenergomash, and our project and manufacturing team, said Frederic Wiscart, senior executive of projects at GE Steam Power. "This past year has been nothing if not challenging - and this first equipment delivery showcases the dedication of GE Steam Power team to continuously deliver on time and on quality for our nuclear customers around the world."

Each Arabelle steam turbine will include three modules: the high pressure/intermediate pressure (HIP) module, and two low pressures modules. In total, each Arabelle will be 60 metres long including generator and deliver 1.2GW each. The HIP is unique to GE's Arabelle technology and allows for more output from any reactor type. GE said the Arabelle is recognised for its high reliability rate of 99,96% over 400,000 operating hours.

Photo: First Arabelle module for Akkuyu 1 was delivered four months ahead of schedule (Credit: GE)