# Türkiye / TENMAK / Copenhagen Atomics thorium SMR source note

Date checked: 2026-09-07 PDT
Article slug: `turkiye-copenhagen-atomics-thorium-smr-source-card`

## Bottom line

A publishable Energy source-card item exists today: Turkish and Turkish-English reporting says Türkiye's ministry-affiliated TENMAK signed a memorandum of understanding with Copenhagen Atomics on thorium for next-generation nuclear technologies and molten-salt reactor fuel work. The evidence supports an R&D/fuel-strategy milestone. It does not support saying Türkiye has a commercial thorium SMR, domestic fuel independence, licensed reactor deployment, or proven Copenhagen Atomics economics.

## Primary / company / technical anchors checked

1. Türkiye Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources thorium information page
   - URL: https://enerji.gov.tr/info-banknatural-resourcesthorium
   - Key lines: Türkiye has 380,141 tons of 0.02% grade thorium reserve in Eskişehir-Sivrihisar; additional Malatya-Kuluncak and Beylikova-Sivrihisar thorium-bearing sources are listed; the ministry page says thorium has fuel-cycle problems and that no commercial-scale thorium power plants are operating. It labels the page informational and not a binding official document. Updated 24 December 2024.

2. TENMAK homepage / institutional page
   - URL: https://www.tenmak.gov.tr/
   - Use: verifies TENMAK as Türkiye's Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency and its nuclear-energy research role. Direct MoU posting was not found on the TENMAK homepage during this check.

3. Copenhagen Atomics company-controlled technology/investor pages
   - URLs: https://copenhagenatomics.com/invest-in-molten-salt-reactor-company/ and https://copenhagenatomics.com/arnova-2026
   - Key lines: company says it is developing a thorium-based molten-salt reactor with a 100 MW thermal unit footprint, has non-commercial prototype/test-loop milestones, expects a 1 MWth demo around 2028, and says commercial units follow in the 2030s. Investor page language is company promotional/forward-looking and not independent validation.

4. World Nuclear Association thorium explainer
   - URL: https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/thorium
   - Key lines: thorium is fertile rather than fissile; it needs a fissile driver such as U-233, U-235 or Pu-239; molten-salt reactors are suited to thorium fuel, but cost-effective extraction of thorium's latent energy value remains an R&D challenge.

## Reporting / current-news anchors checked

1. Türkiye Today — Türkiye taps Danish company to utilize vast thorium reserves for nuclear energy
   - URL: https://turkiyetoday.com/business/turkiye-taps-danish-company-to-utilize-vast-thorium-reserves-for-nuclear-energy-3227626
   - Key lines: says TENMAK and Copenhagen Atomics signed a deal on Sept. 7, 2026; work covers using thorium in next-generation nuclear technologies and domestic thorium-compound production; quotes Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar on SMRs and thorium fuel.

2. Hürriyet Daily News — Türkiye, Danish firm sign thorium technology agreement
   - URL: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkiye-danish-firm-sign-thorium-technology-agreement-226567
   - Key lines: says TENMAK signed an MoU with Copenhagen Atomics; says the ministry stated the work will examine domestic production of thorium compounds that meet nuclear fuel standards for molten-salt reactors; says Bayraktar cautioned that the next few years will show which technologies can commercialize.

3. Daily Sabah — Türkiye partners with Danish firm to develop thorium nuclear tech
   - URL: https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/turkiye-partners-with-danish-firm-to-develop-thorium-nuclear-tech
   - Key lines: same MoU framing; quotes Türkiye targeting conventional nuclear capacity and 5 GW SMR capacity by 2050; says work could eliminate dependence on foreign fuel according to Bayraktar's framing, but this remains a policy/technology aim.

## Leads skipped / duplicate watch

- Studsvik / GE Vernova Hitachi / Samsung C&T BWRX-300 Sweden item: already covered locally on Sept. 4 (`studsvik-bwrx300-sweden-smr-consortium-source-card.html`).
- Raven-Flint uranium conversion / DOE Launch Pad: already covered locally on Sept. 6.
- NuScale / MillenniTEK Sept. 1 safety-component fabrication: older than today's best item and less current.
- India Andaman SMR proposal: press/trade lead, but this run found stronger same-day source pairing for Türkiye/TENMAK/Copenhagen Atomics.

## Editorial cautions

- MoU / cooperation agreement ≠ reactor construction, licensed deployment, commercial fuel production, or fuel independence.
- Thorium is fertile, not directly fissile; a thorium system needs fissile startup material and a working fuel cycle.
- Copenhagen Atomics pages are useful company-controlled technology/status anchors but include promotional investor language and forward-looking cost/return claims.
- Do not repeat claims such as meltdown-proof, weapons-proof, waste-solved, or $20/MWh as settled fact.
- Not investment advice.