Türkiye regulations · 9 October 2026
Türkiye’s small modular reactor bill draft ready, with parliament targeted after budget talks
Minister Bayraktar said an SMR bill draft is ready and is intended for parliament’s agenda after budget discussions. The announcement describes legislative preparation, not an enacted rule.
Türkiye has prepared a draft law for small modular reactors (SMRs), Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, according to a ministry announcement dated 3 October 2026. Speaking at TEKNOFEST Güneydoğu in Şanlıurfa, he said the aim was to bring it onto parliament’s agenda after budget discussions, during the same legislative year. [Source](https://enerji.gov.tr/haber-detay?id=31938)
A proposed framework for development, financing and safety
According to Bayraktar, the planned law would establish a framework supporting SMR development and financing and setting out safety measures. He said the legal foundations would be strengthened once the legislation was enacted. The announcement does not provide draft provisions, financing instruments or specific safety conditions. It therefore should not be read as introducing new obligations already in force for businesses or a finalized implementation schedule. The parliamentary timing is also a stated objective rather than a completed step. [Source](https://enerji.gov.tr/haber-detay?id=31938)
Official source: Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources ↗The 2040 vision and 2050 nuclear capacity target
The minister said work was underway on Türkiye’s 2040 energy vision, with an international announcement planned within a few weeks. Referring also to the COP31 meeting in Antalya, he said 2026 had been designated a preparation year. Bayraktar described energy independence as the vision’s ultimate goal and reiterated Türkiye’s target of reaching 20,000 megawatts of installed nuclear capacity in 2050. That figure represents a future ambition, not existing capacity. [Source](https://enerji.gov.tr/haber-detay?id=31938)
Official source: Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources ↗Separate updates on Akkuyu and TR-2
Bayraktar said he expected the Akkuyu nuclear power plant to enter service within a few months, enabling Türkiye to generate nuclear electricity for the first time; he gave no exact commissioning date. Separately, he said licensing work for the TR-2 Research Reactor at TENMAK’s Çekmece campus had been completed and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority had granted permission. Describing the start of efforts to operate the reactor again, he said the facility would support scientific work in materials technologies, nuclear medicine and isotope production. [Source](https://enerji.gov.tr/haber-detay?id=31938)
Official source: Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources ↗Skills and technology development
The minister emphasized that expanding nuclear capacity requires decades of effort and trained personnel. He said 192 teams were competing in the third edition of TEKNOFEST’s Nuclear Energy Technologies Design Competition. He also reported that students were being sent to different countries for education and that TENMAK provided monthly scholarships of 13,750 lira to students working in the field. Bayraktar outlined an ambition for Türkiye to possess, manufacture and export SMR technology; the announcement does not report that this ambition has been achieved. [Source](https://enerji.gov.tr/haber-detay?id=31938)
Official source: Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources ↗Related news
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