Aviation, Space and Technology Festival (TEKNOFEST), of which Anadolu Agency (AA) is the "Global Communication Partner" and carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the T3 Foundation, continues at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport.
Bayraktar, who came together with young people participating in energy competitions within the scope of TEKNOFEST Southeast, said, "The nuclear energy technologies competition within the scope of TEKNOFEST is very important for us. This year was the 3rd and the number of teams is increasing every year. 192 teams competed in many different fields and therefore in different categories." he said.
Emphasizing that these competitions are indicators of Türkiye's innovative spirit, Bayraktar said, "We want Turkey not to miss the age of the SMR revolution and to become a country that has had this technology from the beginning, produced it and exported it in the future. Let's build the small modular reactors with a target of 20 thousand megawatts, with our own technologies and our own people." he said.
Stating that there are important opportunities for the future in the field of nuclear energy, Bayraktar explained that they are trying to train human resources in this field by sending students to Russia, China and the USA.
Noting that the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mining Research Agency (TENMAK) affiliated with the Ministry also announced a scholarship program during the year, Bayraktar said, "We assign mentors to our students, teammates who will guide them, take care of them and, in a sense, direct both their academic and professional lives in the future." he said.
Bayraktar pointed out that TEKNOFEST provides an opportunity to train human resources and said:
"There is great motivation, great energy. Therefore, it is a very nice atmosphere. It is also very exciting to see children working on nuclear. Therefore, this gives us hope because it is a field where we will need thousands, tens of thousands of very well-trained people. The most important thing in this field is nuclear safety. We are on the way to becoming a country that produces its own nuclear power plants and technology and also operates them."
SMR law comes to Parliament
Stating that the world is moving towards the field of SMR in nuclear, but this has important dimensions related to licensing and nuclear safety, Bayraktar continued his words as follows:
"Our nuclear regulatory authority carries out its own work, there are also regulatory institutions with which we cooperate internationally. We are currently preparing a small modular reactor law, a framework law, its draft is ready. Probably not before the budget, but after the budget, we aim to bring it to the agenda of our Parliament this legislative year."
Stating that the legal infrastructure of the SMR field will be strongly established with the draft becoming law, Bayraktar said, "We will create a framework that will ensure the development of this issue, ensure its financing, and reveal the measures to be taken regarding security." he said.
Bayraktar said that one of the things to be done in the nuclear field is the reactivation of the Çekmece Nuclear Research and Training Center (ÇNAEM), located on the edge of Küçükçekmece Lake in Istanbul, after an interval of nearly 20 years, and that this is important.
Pointing out that very serious studies will be carried out in this center, Bayraktar said, "The nuclear field is actually not just about energy production. Our Nuclear Regulatory Authority has given our permissions and now it will conduct scientific research, material technologies, nuclear medicine, isotope production in all fields... Applications in agriculture, applications in material science, so all of these will accelerate significantly and we will reduce our foreign dependency in this field." made his assessment.
"We will announce the 2040 vision"
Bayraktar emphasized that it is not possible to talk about artificial intelligence without energy and said:
"Therefore, it is important for us to be able to provide energy uninterruptedly, and there are very important opportunities and challenges ahead of us in this field. We need to be ready for these. In this sense, considering the COP31 meeting in Antalya, we declared 2026 as the year of preparation for this. We are working on the 2040 energy vision. We will announce this to Türkiye and the world public in the next few weeks. Of course, we have an ultimate goal in this new energy vision: to make Türkiye independent in energy. In addition, nuclear energy is a must for us." "Türkiye must have nuclear energy. We must enter this age of artificial intelligence, this digital world, together with nuclear power."
Stating that Türkiye will start producing electricity at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in a few months, making a 70-year-old dream come true, Bayraktar said, "Now the second age of nuclear is beginning. In a sense, you will be at the beginning of that age." he said.
On the other hand, TEKNOFEST Chairman of the Board of Directors Selçuk Bayraktar, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Presidential Defense Industry President Haluk Görgün, Chief of General Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu and Commanders of the Land, Naval and Air Forces visited the stand of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and received information about the works.
