ANTALYA, Turkiye -- AtkinsRealis said on Thursday it would conduct a feasibility study for an expansion of Turkiye’s nuclear power program, as the country looks to add to a Russian-built plant under construction on its southern coast. The deal with Turkish state-owned nuclear energy company TUNAS includes discussions on a plan for a six-unit, 4.5-gigawatt plant in Turkiye, AtkinsRealis President, Nuclear, Joe St. Julian, told Reuters. The parties plan to complete an engineering design study by 2028, before a final investment decision, he said. Turkiye is aiming to expand its nuclear program beyond the 4.8-gigawatt Akkuyu plant under construction by Russia’s Rosatom in the Mediterranean province of Mersin, with sites in the Black Sea province of Sinop and the northwestern Thrace region identified as potential locations for new plants. Ankara has previously said it was in talks with Canada, South Korea, Russia, Japan and China on a potential plant. It has signed memorandums of understanding with Canada and South Korea on nuclear cooperation, with financing and costs a key factor. Last week, unveiling the country’s national energy plan, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Ankara aims to raise nuclear capacity to 10 GW by 2040 and expects nuclear power to meet 11 per cent of electricity demand by then. He has described 2027 as a decision year for plans in Sinop or Thrace. First production expected in 2036 The agreement announced on Thursday was signed by AtkinsRealis subsidiary Candu Energy on the sidelines of the COP31 climate summit in the Turkish city of Antalya, where Turkiye has made increasing the share of electricity in global energy use a top goal. AtkinsRealis said it would carry out a comprehensive study to be completed by the end of 2027 for a potential multi-unit nuclear project, as well as front-end engineering and design (FEED) work. TUNAS said the study would evaluate technical aspects, including the site, adaptation of the CANDU reactor technology to that site, and the operation of the plant, in addition to the project’s financing. St. Julian said there was a roadmap in place for discussions around financing, adding that it would be a “typical debt versus equity split.” Canada would anchor the debt through its export credit agency, with credit financing with other nations and commercial loans making up the remainder, he said. First electricity from the planned plant was expected in 2036, St. Julian said. Last month, NATO allies Canada and Turkiye upgraded their relations to a “strategic partnership” during the first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister, with nuclear cooperation topping the agenda. The Akkuyu project — Turkiye’s first nuclear power plant — has faced repeated delays, with Rosatom now expecting the first reactor to achieve its first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction before the end of this year. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ezgi Erkoyun and Can Sezer; Editing by Daren Butler, Aidan Lewis)
