U.S government funding institutions are ready to finance nuclear power projects in Türkiye, Justin Friedman, the State Department’s Senior Advisor for Commercial Competitiveness in Nuclear Energy, told Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency,
“We are waiting for the projects to come forward so we can say … match the project with the money,” Friedman said on the sidelines of the 11th Nuclear Power Plants Summit in Istanbul, held July 1-2. “I know they are exploring opportunities here in Türkiye and have programs to help, particularly SMRs, move forward,” he added.
Friedman said financing could come from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation which have already issued letters of interest worth more than $17 billion for nuclear projects in Romania and Poland and are now looking at Türkiye.
“Turkish companies already, today, are providing parts, supplies, and services for nuclear projects outside of Türkiye,” Friedman said. “It is only natural that U.S. companies would want to seek that expertise and take advantage of it as they explore projects here in Türkiye.” he said.
He pointed out that U.S. President Donald Trump has set a target of adding 400 GW of nuclear capacity in the U.S. by 2050. “That is a very ambitious goal, and that is why the U.S. is in the lead around the world,” he said.
Two U.S. companies are now building SMRs, including GE Hitachi which began construction of a nuclear power plant in Ontario, Canada, which will include four 300 MW SMRs. NuScale is also building its reactor in South Korea.
