Selçuk Bayraktar: Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Development Studies Started

Selçuk Bayraktar announced that they have been working in the field of small modular reactors for 1.5-2 years and that they will be able to develop their own SMR in a few years.

A new step is coming from the private sector side to Turkey's efforts in the field of nuclear energy. Baykar Chairman of the Board of Directors, Selçuk Bayraktar, announced in his statement at the Nuclear Energy Technologies Design Competition held within the scope of TEKNOFEST that they are working on small modular reactors.

Bayraktar stated that they have been working on SMR technologies with TMRS Energy for about 1.5-2 years and that he believes that they can develop a small modular reactor within a few years.

“One of the building blocks of energy independence”

Bayraktar pointed out that nuclear technologies are largely under state control, especially on the fuel and technology side. Stating that SMRs can play an important role in Turkey's energy independence, Bayraktar compared this technology to the technological breakthrough in aviation.

He stated that small modular reactors stand out in terms of being smaller and more modular compared to traditional large-scale nuclear power plants and being able to gradually build capacity according to different energy needs.

Energy is also critical for artificial intelligence

One of the striking topics in Bayraktar's statements was the relationship between artificial intelligence and energy.

Stating that artificial intelligence infrastructures increasingly need electrical energy, Bayraktar pointed out that energy is the basis of computing capacity. Stating that electricity consumption is rapidly increasing in the world, Bayraktar evaluated that developments in SMR technologies are important not only for the energy sector but also for the technology ecosystem of the future.

Bayraktar also stated that approximately 600 million people in the world still do not have access to energy, and said that SMRs can represent an important opportunity to meet the increasing energy demand.

Turkey has an SMR target

Baykar's statement also coincides with Turkey's official nuclear energy policy. The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources plans to include small modular reactors in Turkey's energy portfolio alongside large-scale power plants.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced that Turkey aims to reach a nuclear capacity of 20 thousand megawatts by 2050 and that SMR technologies will also be included in this.

In its previous statements, the Ministry also brought up the goal of adding at least 5 GW SMR capacity to Turkey's energy basket in the next 20 years.

Nuclear research infrastructure is also strengthening

There are also new developments in Turkey's nuclear technology infrastructure. At the same event, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced that the TR-2 Research Reactor was re-licensed.

With the reactivation of the research infrastructure in the Çekmece campus, it is aimed to re-conduct nuclear material tests and research activities.