Türkiye and Canada’s AtkinsRéalis Sign CANDU Nuclear Feasibility Deal

Officials from state-owned Türkiye Nükleer Enerji AŞ (TÜNAŞ) and Candu Energy Inc., a subsidiary of AtkinsRéalis, signed the memorandum on Thursday. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Canadian Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin attended the ceremony at the U.N. climate summit in Antalya.

The document is titled a “Candu Feasibility and Preliminary Design Engineering Memorandum of Agreement,” Bayraktar said. It moves the two sides into a feasibility and front-end engineering and design, or FEED, stage focused on CANDU reactor technology.

What the Agreement Covers

AtkinsRéalis said the study would assess site characteristics, infrastructure, environmental issues and how a multi-unit project could be delivered in Türkiye. The work is expected to be completed before the end of 2027.

Bayraktar said site selection, technology adaptation, operating processes and financing would be examined in fine detail. He called the participation of Turkish industry and the training of qualified staff the most critical part of the process, and said the work would form a reliable basis for final investment decisions.

Ian L. Edwards, chief executive of AtkinsRéalis, said the agreement reflected Ottawa’s aim to widen the global reach of Canadian nuclear expertise, “with CANDU nuclear technology at the centre of that strategy.”

Talks on a 4.5-Gigawatt Plant

Joe St. Julian, president of AtkinsRéalis’s nuclear business, told Reuters that the parties were discussing a six-unit plan for a 4.5-gigawatt plant. He said they intended to complete the engineering design study by 2028, after which a final investment decision could follow.

The countries had also agreed on a roadmap for financing the project, St. Julian told Reuters. No construction contract has been awarded, and AtkinsRéalis did not name a site in its statement.

CANDU is a Canadian heavy-water reactor design. The company said 34 such reactors have been built on four continents.

Türkiye’s Wider Nuclear Plans

The study follows a March memorandum of understanding in Toronto between TÜNAŞ and Candu Energy, attended by Bayraktar and Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson.

Türkiye’s first nuclear plant, Akkuyu, is being built by Russia’s Rosatom with four VVER-1200 reactors and a planned capacity of about 4.8 gigawatts. Ankara has also planned further plants at Sinop and in Thrace, and has held talks with South Korea, Russia, China, Japan and Canada.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this month called South Korea a “great potential collaborator” on the Sinop project, and Seoul signed a financing memorandum during his visit. No partner or reactor technology has been chosen for that site.

Last week, Bayraktar presented a National Energy 2040 plan that aims to raise nuclear capacity to 10 gigawatts by 2040, covering about 11% of electricity demand. He said 2027 would be the decisive year for decisions on the Sinop and Thrace plants.