Turkey could partner with the United States and South Korea on its second planned nuclear power plant under a “trilateral model,” Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in a televised interview on Thursday.
Turkey is already building its first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, on the Mediterranean coast with Russia’s Rosatom. Bayraktar has repeatedly said the first unit is slated to start operations in 2026, while Ankara pursues a second site at Sinop and a third site under review in Western Thrace. In outlining criteria for the next project, he said Turkey wants not only baseload power at a competitive cost but also technology transfer and training similar to elements negotiated at Akkuyu.
Bayraktar said in a CNN Türk broadcast that talks previously held with China had been expanded and that “America and Korea” were added, making a Turkey–US–Korea three-way structure possible for the next plant. He also referenced recent discussions President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had with the leaders of Canada and France on both large reactors and small modular reactors.
Bayraktar’s comments come a week after Turkey and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on September 25 on strategic civil nuclear cooperation, which Ankara said is meant to deepen partnership on reactor technology, supply chains and workforce development.