A Rosatom desalination complex with a capacity of 2,000 cubic metres of water a day has started operating at the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Türkiye. It will supply the NPP with desalinated water for household needs and fire safety systems.
The seawater desalination complex, powered by electricity from its own energy source, combines the use of Rosatom’s own technological solutions and global experience in operating desalination plants. “The key advantage of this approach is to combine two industries that provide the most important resources for human life – water and electricity, which creates a unique resource cluster for the sustainable development of the territory,” said Ksenia Sukhotina, CEO of Rosatom Infrastructure Solutions, the Rosatom division that provided the construction of the complex.
During the operation of the desalination complex, seawater will be converted into a high–purity distillate by evaporation and condensation in special evaporator units. During the production of drinking water, the distillate will be saturated with mineral salts in full compliance with the requirements for high-quality drinking water. For this purpose, the desalination complex is equipped with a special mineralisation unit.
The Russian nuclear industry has many years of experience in the development and implementation of desalination technologies in integration with a NPP. A desalination complex combined with the BN-350 fast neutron reactor operated at the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine in Aktau (formerly known as Shevchenko), Kazakhstan from 1973 until 1994. It supplied fresh water to the plant, industry and the population and continued to operate after the closure of the NPP.
Akkuyu NPP will eventually host four Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors. The pouring of first concrete for unit 1 took place in April 2018, for unit 2 in June 2020, for unit 3 in March 2021, and for unit 4 in July 2022. Rosatom is constructing the reactors according to a build-own-operate model. Unit 1 is expected to begin operation in 2025. In July 2024 Akkuyu NPP reported that some 70% of the equipment and systems installed at unit 1 had already undergone commissioning.
