▲ Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye, inspects the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant in Romania.
Local media reports indicate that Türkiye is considering the adoption of Canadian technology for its next planned nuclear power plant project.
Türkiye has previously engaged in related discussions with South Korea as well.
According to local media outlets, including Anadolu Agency and the daily newspaper Sabah, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar visited the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant in Romania, which utilizes 'CANDU' reactor technology, on June 17 (local time) to inspect the facilities.
Minister Bayraktar stated that Türkiye has set a goal to expand its nuclear power capacity to 20,000 MW (megawatts) by 2050, adding, "We aim to secure nuclear power plants at competitive prices, continue investments, and adopt the safest technologies available."
He further remarked, "We hope to pursue second and third nuclear power plant construction projects through a more comprehensive and holistic approach to nuclear waste management and fuel supply."
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Türkiye's first, which was built with the participation of the Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, is expected to begin power generation by the end of this year. The Turkish government plans to build additional nuclear power plants in the Sinop and Thrace regions.
Minister Bayraktar mentioned that "we are conducting research on partners and countries to collaborate with regarding the selection of technology for power plants to be built after Akkuyu," noting that Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are also under discussion.
The minister explained that Türkiye has been in long-term negotiations with China on this matter, recently began intensive cooperation with South Korea, and has been actively engaging with Canada over the past few months.
In November of last year, during a summit between President Lee Jae-myung and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and the Turkish Nuclear Energy Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate on reactor technology and site evaluation.
(Photo: Captured from X @aBayraktar1, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.