'Türkiye can be among the countries that transfer nuclear technology'

Alikaan Çiftçi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nuclear Industry Association, which cooperated in the organization of the 11th Nuclear Power Plants Fair and Summit (NPPES 2025) in ISTANBUL, drew attention to Türkiye's progress in the field of nuclear technology and said, "Turkey has risen to a new league with Akkuyu and has now reached the capacity to be among the countries transferring nuclear technology. This competence brought by Akkuyu NPP will provide a great advantage at the international level."

Çiftçi said that in recent years, there has been a strong reorientation towards nuclear energy worldwide in line with clean energy targets; while developed countries are accelerating their investments in new generation reactors, developing countries are also turning to the nuclear option for energy supply security, and expressed that thanks to Akkuyu NPP, Türkiye has gained important opportunities for international collaborations in the energy sector.

'RENEWABLE RESOURCES WOULD BE INSUFFICIENT WITHOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY'

Stating that nuclear energy is no longer just an alternative, but a fundamental element for the continuity and security of the system, Çiftçi said, “Akkuyu NPP is not just an energy generating facility; it is a strategic choice in terms of Türkiye’s energy independence, supply security and low-carbon production goals. It will bring long-term balance to the energy system by strengthening Türkiye’s nuclear energy capacity.”

Stating that Türkiye’s renewable resources have increased significantly, Çiftçi said, “Our installed power in solar and wind is around 35 gigawatts. We aim to increase this capacity to 120 gigawatts by 2035. However, due to the discontinuity of renewable resources, the need for continuously producing resources is increasing. At this point, nuclear energy is of critical importance.”

Çiftçi stated that when Akkuyu NPP reaches full capacity, it will have a power of 4.8 gigawatts and will meet approximately 10 percent of Türkiye's total electricity production.

'ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INCREASES GLOBAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION'

Çiftçi stated that the widespread use of artificial intelligence in all areas has increased the demand for nuclear energy and continued as follows:

“The rapid growth of data centers and digital infrastructure, along with the widespread use of artificial intelligence, is significantly increasing global energy consumption. The increasing energy demand due to artificial intelligence is making nuclear energy a strategic player. For example, a single transaction performed by an artificial intelligence chatbot can consume 5 to 10 times more energy than a traditional search. The recent investments of technology giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google into nuclear energy are also an indication of this trend.”

Expressing that the rapidly increasing energy demand of data centers creates a great opportunity for nuclear energy investments, Çiftçi said, “Data centers can evaluate nuclear energy along with renewable resources to meet their uninterrupted energy needs. According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centers accounted for approximately 1.5 percent (415 TWh) of global electricity consumption in 2024. While the increase in electricity consumption of data centers was 3 percent annually between 2005 and 2015, this rate increased to 10 percent between 2015 and 2024. Since 2017, global electricity consumption of data centers has grown by approximately 12 percent on average annually.”

'NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES ARE BECOMING THE CENTER OF THE GLOBAL ENERGY TRANSFORMATION'

Çiftçi, who stated that Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Micro Reactors (MMR) have attracted the attention of countries that want to modernize their energy infrastructure with their low-cost and fast-starting structures, said, “China is investing heavily in both traditional large reactor projects and SMR technologies. SMRs are also among Russia’s nuclear energy projects carried out on a global scale. Russia, a pioneer in nuclear energy applications, has been operating its floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov for 5 years and has become the world’s first nuclear power plant producing electricity based on SMR class technology. Russia, which has also been using SMR technology in icebreaker ships for decades, is developing new SMR designs in different areas such as electricity generation by benefiting from its SMR operating experience.”

Emphasizing that Türkiye took its first major step in the field of nuclear energy with the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Çiftçi said that Türkiye has the potential to turn to both traditional nuclear power plants and SMR technologies that can offer more flexible and local solutions in the coming years.

Recalling that Türkiye signed the Declaration on Tripling Nuclear Energy within the scope of COP 29 last year, Çiftçi said the following:

“By becoming a party to this declaration, our country has clearly demonstrated its determination to place nuclear energy at the center of energy policies. This commitment is not only symbolic, but also a harbinger of concrete investments and strategic planning.”

DHA

Reporter: News Center