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Türkiye wants to become a country capable of developing and using its own nuclear energy technology as it expands its nuclear power program, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Thursday.
Bayraktar described small modular reactors as the "second age" of nuclear energy and outlined Türkiye’s ambition to build domestic capabilities in the field.
"We want to make Türkiye a country that can use its own energy technology in this new era of nuclear power and can produce its own resources," Bayraktar said. "I believe Türkiye’s engineering capabilities are sufficient for this. Very serious work is currently being carried out in this area."
The push for greater domestic nuclear capabilities comes as Türkiye prepares to begin generating electricity at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. Bayraktar said electricity generation at the plant’s first reactor is expected to begin within the next few months, describing the project as the realization of a 70-year-old nuclear ambition.
"We will hopefully start producing electricity at the first reactor within the next few months. It is a 70-year-old dream. Türkiye is entering the nuclear league," he said.
Akkuyu is part of Türkiye’s broader nuclear expansion plan, which includes 12 conventional reactors across three plants, with Sinop and Thrace also planned within the target of 20,000 MW of nuclear capacity by 2050.
Akkuyu is part of Türkiye’s broader nuclear expansion plan, which targets 20,000 MW of nuclear capacity by 2050 through 12 conventional reactors across three plants, with Sinop and Thrace also planned.
At least 5,000 MW is expected to come from small modular reactors, with Ankara exploring international partnerships to develop the technology.
Türkiye is pursuing nuclear power alongside domestic oil and natural gas production, renewable energy, and energy-efficiency measures as it seeks to end its dependence on foreign energy sources, the minister highlighted.
Bayraktar has described ending that dependence as a key national goal, arguing that greater reliance on domestic resources would strengthen Türkiye economically and strategically.
"Energy demand continues to rise very rapidly around the world, and life without energy is not possible. This is also the case for our country. Therefore, meeting this increasing demand properly and meeting it through our own domestic resources rather than external sources will provide us with a very important economic contribution," Bayraktar said.
The minister also pointed to the Gabar oil field and Sakarya gas field, alongside Akkuyu, as "game-changing" projects for Türkiye. Higher domestic production could help bring down the cost of natural gas purchased from abroad, which can sometimes be expensive, he added.
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