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Iran pushes ahead with reactor construction
commissioned in 2024 and 2026 but faced delays due to Covid-19 and financial difficulties. Eslami said in October 2023 that construction work at the two Bushehr reactors had increased ten-fold compared with previous years. He added that hoped first concrete would soon be poured for the third unit. “We hope that the second unit will be completed and inaugurated in less than five years and the third unit 1.5 years after that,” he said. Site work is also underway for the
Above: The Russian-designed VVER-1000 unit operating at the Bushehr NPP will be joined by multiple additional plants under Iran’s nuclear plans Source: AEOI
Ground has been broken for the construction in Iran of a new NPP at Sirik in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan. The 5,000 MWe plant, estimated at $15bn, is part of broader plans to develop the Makran coastal region, according to the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami. It is part of a long-term target to construct 20,000 MWe of nuclear capacity and to develop Iran’s nuclear industry in the next two decades. The Iran-Hormoz Plant is designed to have four 1,250 MWe units. “To date we have delivered the suitable land
for the construction of the plants in Hormozgan province, and its detailed studies have begun and are progressing,” Eslami noted. “On this site, an industrial town must be created so that we can implement and pursue projects of such magnitude according to the set timeline.” He said this should include infrastructure facilities and specialised training during construction and operation of the plant. Iran already has one Russian-designed VVER- 1000 unit operating at the Bushehr NPP, with two more units under construction. In addition, it is constructing an indigenously-designed NPP at Dharkovin on the Karun river. In his address, President Raeisi said: “We have no doubt that what started in Bushehr, Hormozgan and other areas will be quickly followed.” Bushehr unit 1 began operations in 2011
and reached full capacity the following year. Rosatom subsidiary ASE, which is the general contractor for the Bushehr project, and Nuclear Power Production and Development Company of Iran signed an EPC turnkey contract for construction of two more VVER-1000 reactors – Bushehr 2&3 – in 2014 and in December 2016 preliminary work began at the site. In 2017, construction officially began of the two units and pouring of first concrete for Bushehr 2 took place in 2019. The units were planned to be
construction of a NPP at Dharkovin on the Karun river, in Khuzestan province. AEOI said in 2022 that construction of a 300 MWe domestically- designed PWR had begun. The Darkhovin NPP will be built about 70 kilometres from the southwestern city of Ahvaz in the provincial capital of Khuzestan. Eslami said construction is expected to take eight years at an estimated cost of $1bn. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran had signed a $2bn contract with France’s Framatome to build two PWRs at Darkhovin. However, France subsequently withdrew from the project and completed components of the plant remained in France. Then in 1992 former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani agreed a plan with China, despite US objections, to buy two 300 MWe reactors for Darkhovin, but the Chinese withdrew from the project under pressure from Washington. Iran had signed up Zurich-based ABB as a consultant, but the company withdrew several times before finally quitting in 2018 in face of US sanctions. Meanwhile, first concrete has also been
poured for a new multi-purpose 10 MW research reactor at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre (INTC). Eslami, attending the launch ceremony, said that the process of designing and constructing reactors requires detailed studies, preparation, and equipment designs, adding that plans for the new reactor had started last year. He added that the reactor is being constructed to provide a powerful neutron source with high neutron flux. It will be used for fuel and materials testing as well as for the production of industrial radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals. The INTC already has three operating small
reactors which are used for research and training: a light water sub critical assembly, which began operation in 1992; a 30 MWth light water miniaturised neutron source reactor, which began operation in 1994; and a heavy water zero power reactor that began operation in 1995. Another graphite sub-critical reactor has been decommissioned. INTC also has a conversion facility, a fuel production plant, a zirconium cladding plant, and other facilities and laboratories. ■
round up
NEW BUILD A “CLEAN AREA” has been prepared in the reactor compartment of unit 1 of the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Turkiye. This is a prepared workspace for the control assembly of the reactor install the equipment needed to load the simulated reactor core before cold and hot testing begins.
ROSATOM DIRECTOR GENERAL Alexey Likhachev led a Rosatom delegation to Akkuyu NPP for talks with Turkiye’s Ministry of Energy & Natural Resources. He inspected the construction site and held a meeting with project managers, confirming that unit 1 is more than 90% complete.
INDIA’S ATOMIC ENERGY Regulatory Board has issued permission for the Phase-C commissioning stage at unit 4 of the Kakrapar atomic power project (KAPP-4) in Gujarat after a satisfactory Safety Review. Power will now be increased in three stages at the 700 MWe PHWR. Regulatory permission is required at each stage.
CHINA NATIONAL NUCLEAR Corporation said the outer containment dome has been installed at the ACP-100 small modular reactor (SMR) demonstration project at the Changjiang NPP in Hainan Province. The multi-purpose, 125 MWe SMR (also known as Linglong One) is a PWR designed for electricity generation, urban heating, urban cooling, industrial steam production, or seawater desalination.
WORK ON THE expansion of the Paks NPP (Paks-II) is proceeding smoothly, which will enable Hungary to maintain its energy security, preserve the results of the reduction of electricity prices, and further strengthen environmental protection, said Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade Péter Szijjártó following a telephone conversation with Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, to ensure that hand over is as soon as possible.
UPGRADES FRAMATOME HAS DELIVERED three replacement steam generators for unit 3 of the Cruas-Meysse NPP in France. The generators, which are each 21 metres long weighing 329 tonnes, were delivered from the Framatome plant in Saint-Marcel in Saône-et-Loire to the plant by waterway and road. The replacement is part of the fourth 10-year review by the nuclear safety authority, ASN (Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire). In November, ASN agreed to give EDF more time to complete safety upgrades at its 32 900 MWe units, including those at Cruas-Meysse.
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