Washington: The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is actively seeking to collaborate with Trkiye on investments in small modular reactors (SMRs), according to Deputy Director Thomas Hardy. During a roundtable in Washington, Hardy discussed the agency's plans to prioritize new projects in Trkiye, following a successful meeting with a Turkish delegation on cyber security earlier this year.

According to Anadolu Agency, Hardy revealed that discussions with Trkiye's energy and natural resources minister highlighted the potential role USTDA could play in advancing SMR projects. He noted the importance of nuclear energy in meeting Trkiye's base-load power needs and emphasized USTDA's historical success in Trkiye's geothermal development.

Hardy explained that while the US industry is in the early stages of SMR development, USTDA aims to prepare the groundwork for future investments in this area. He mentioned that Turkish private-sector organizations have the capacity to benefit from nuclear-powered processes and energy production, and USTDA will work to ensure regulatory support for SMR deployment in Trkiye.

Hardy concluded that USTDA could assist its partners in Trkiye in evaluating how nuclear energy and SMRs could bolster the country's industrial capabilities, providing essential power generation and heat production.