The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has signed a technical assistance agreement with TUNAS, Turkey's state-owned nuclear enterprise, to support the development of small modular reactor technology in that country. The agreement, valued at approximately 2 million dollars, is intended to help establish the regulatory, institutional, and financial frameworks Turkish private companies would need to deploy SMR technology.

Turkey's energy ministry has previously set a target of deploying 5,000 megawatts of SMR capacity by 2050, in addition to twelve larger reactors already planned. Under the year-long study financed through the agreement, USTDA and TUNAS will examine SMR designs from four American companies alongside five fourth-generation U.S. reactor designs, assessing each from technical, economic, regulatory, and licensing standpoints.

USTDA Deputy Director Thomas Hardy said the goal is to help TUNAS create the conditions needed to deploy SMRs while opening opportunities for American reactor developers and suppliers to participate in that market. The recommendations produced by the study are meant to guide Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the Turkish Nuclear Regulatory Authority as they build out a licensing framework for advanced reactors.

Turkey is also pursuing larger-scale nuclear development separately, with four Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors currently under construction at the Akkuyu site. TUNAS has previously signed cooperation agreements with South Korea's state utility and with Canada's Candu Energy, positioning the country as a growing customer for reactor technology from multiple nations, including the United States.

Source: World Nuclear News -- https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/us-turkey-agreement-to-accelerate-smr-deployment