Turkey and Danish Developer Sign Memorandum on Thorium-Based Molten Salt Reactor Research

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 9, 2026, the Turkish Ministry of Energy stated that the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mining Research Institute (TENMAK) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Danish advanced reactor developer Copenhagen Atomics (CA). The two parties will conduct collaborative research on the application of thorium as a potential nuclear fuel for molten salt reactors.

Tenmak and Copenhagen Atomics signed the memorandum of understanding on September 7. Photo courtesy of the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources

The Turkish Ministry of Energy stated that the collaboration aims to advance research into thorium as a potential reactor fuel, with a focus on assessing Turkey's capacity to produce thorium compounds using domestic resources.

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said that Turkey is rich in thorium resources, making the related technology particularly significant as it is expected to reduce the country's dependence on external sources for nuclear fuel. He expressed hope that the collaboration will yield results and help translate the research into commercially viable products in the future.

Thorium is widely distributed globally and is more abundant than uranium, which is commonly used as fuel in traditional nuclear reactors. Copenhagen Atomics is developing a modular, containerized thorium-based molten salt reactor designed for mass manufacturing and large-scale deployment, with each module capable of providing 100 megawatts of thermal power.

Turkey is currently building its first nuclear power plant, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. The project uses four Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurized water reactor units supplied by Russia. According to Turkey's plans, the country's installed nuclear power capacity will reach 20,000 megawatts by 2050, with at least 5,000 megawatts coming from small modular reactors.