The construction project for Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant has hit a fresh landmark with dummy fuel assemblies being loaded into unit 1 of the Rooppur nuclear power plant.

The dummy fuel assemblies’ dimensions, weight and materials are exact replicas of standard fuel assemblies, but without nuclear fuel. They are designed to check the geometry of the reactor core and are a key step of the start-up process for a new nuclear unit.

In addition to ensuring the quality of the loading and handling processes, they will also help to confirm the hydraulic parameters of the reactor plant during circulation flushing and reactor cold and hot tests preceding physical start-up of the unit.

Nuclear fuel loading will only take place after the tests with the dummy fuel assemblies have been successfully carried out.

The Rooppur plant, 160 kilometres from the capital Dhaka, features two Russian VVER-1200 reactors. Rosatom in February 2011 signed an agreement for two reactors to be built at Rooppur for the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. The initial contract for the project, worth USD12.65 billion, was signed in December 2015. The Bangladesh Atomic Regulatory Authority issued the first site licence for the Rooppur plant in June 2016, allowing preliminary site works, including geological surveys, to begin. Construction of the first unit began in November 2017. Construction of the second unit began in July 2018. They have an initial life-cycle of 60 years, with a further 20-year extension possible.

Denis Muzlov, Director of Atomtechenergo JSC Branch in Bangladesh, said that all 163 dummy fuel assemblies (DFA) would be loaded over the next few days, with the work continuing round the clock. “Loading of one DFA into the reactor, using the refuelling machine in automatic mode, takes 25 minutes on average. After the DFA loading, we will start preparing the reactor for subsequent circulation flushing and cold and hot tests.”

Alexey Deriy, ASE JSC Vice President for Projects in Bangladesh, said the project was a demonstration of Rosatom “creating the conditions for development of new industries in its partner countries. Construction of Rooppur NPP is going on, the start-up and adjustment works at unit 1 are in full swing. Upon the power plant start-up, Bangladesh will be provided with electricity for further development of the country.”