CANDU in Turkey?

The company Candu Energy (part of the AtkinsRéalis group) and Turkey's nuclear energy company (TÜNAŞ) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at exploring the possibility of constructing Canadian CANDU reactors at new locations in Turkey. The agreement provides for the exchange of technical data, experiences and expertise, as well as the evaluation of regulatory requirements and potential financing models

Potpisivanju sporazuma prisustvovali su ministri energetike obe zemlje, a turski ministar Alparslan Bayraktar istakao je da je cilj Turske diversifikacija energetskog portfolija i povećanje nuklearnih kapaciteta kroz nova partnerstva. On je naglasio da geopolitički razvoj događaja u svetu zahteva nove saveze, označavajući početak “nove ere” u odnosima Turske i Kanade.

We add that in southern Turkey the first Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu is already being built with four VVER-1200 reactors, but Ankara is concurrently negotiating with South Korea, China and now Canada for projects in Sinop and Thrace. And we draw attention to a somewhat unusual practice: changing the strategic partner and introducing two completely different technologies. Namely, Turkey's strategic partner in the Akkuyu project is Russia, which is building reactors of VVER design – pressurized water reactors. The CANDU design is technologically completely different, namely a reactor cooled and moderated with heavy water, which is why its fuel can use natural, unenriched uranium. Another advantage of this design is the possibility of refueling without shutting down the reactor (because the fuel elements are located in individual tubes).

CANDU, again, has a few drawbacks: it was designed to operate for 30 years after which a fundamental and very expensive overhaul is needed in which almost all reactor elements must be completely replaced, including the calandria, i.e., the reactor vessel. Another drawback is, on the other hand, much more complex: the last CANDU was put into operation almost twenty years ago and that in our neighborhood (Romania), so the question remains whether Canadian companies that developed and built CANDU have the capacity and so-called “know-how” for the efficient execution of such a complex project.

Otherwise, Turkey plans to bring into the system by 2050 also 5 GWe of capacity through small modular reactors (SMRs), while for large projects the latest Canadian CANDU Monark design with a capacity of 1,000 MW is being considered.