Fuel loading completed at first unit of Rooppur nuclear power plant

The much-anticipated nuclear fuel loading at the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has been successfully completed. Project sources confirmed the matter on Tuesday afternoon, May 12. The milestone marks a crucial step towards the start of electricity generation.

The fuel loading process began on April 28. A total of 163 fuel assemblies were gradually placed into the reactor core.

Rooppur Project Director and Vice President of Atomstroyexport Alexey Deriy said the work was carried out in strict compliance with operational regulations and international nuclear safety standards.

The next phase will involve installing the upper reactor head and connecting the in-core instrumentation system, followed by hundreds of tests and experiments, Deriy said. The reactor will then be brought to a minimum controllable power level, with capacity gradually increased. Test commercial production will begin following this process.

Built with Russian technical and financial assistance, the Rooppur plant will consist of two VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400 megawatts. These Generation III Plus reactors meet all international safety standards. The engineering division of Rosatom is serving as the project's general designer and contractor.