TENMAK undertakes the task of being Turkey’s energy and technology base

Abdullah Buğrahan Karaveli, President of the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mining Research Council (TENMAK), stated that the aim is to protect supply security and reduce external dependency on Turkey’s path to the 2053 net zero emission target, and said that the institution has undertaken the task of being the technology base of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in this process.

Karaveli, who participated in the International Efficiency Challenge Electric Vehicle Races and the High School Efficiency Challenge Electric Vehicle Races held in Kocaeli within the scope of the TEKNOFEST Aviation, Space and Technology Festival, answered the questions of the AA correspondent.

Karaveli, who stated that Turkey is progressing towards the goal of becoming a country that has reduced its external dependency on resources and technology and makes significant contributions to the global value chain, said, “When we look at the working principle and field of work of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the technology and R&D base of the ministry is the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mining Research Council, or TENMAK in short.”

Karaveli pointed out that the institution plays a key role in the development of hydrogen-related technologies that play an important role on the way to the country’s net zero target and in the training of employees interested in this technology, and said, “TENMAK does this by developing technology suitable for the problem or opportunity areas it has determined. On the other hand, by calling on the public, it provides financing or technical support for hydrogen projects of researchers at universities and industrial sectors, or takes part as a project stakeholder in internationally developed projects and carries out technology development-focused studies.”

“The world is experiencing a new golden age of nuclear energy”

Karaveli stated that TENMAK’s fields of work directly match the country’s 40-50-year goals, and that nuclear energy plays an important role in meeting the country’s rapidly increasing energy demand without carbon emissions.

In this regard, Karaveli pointed out that the institution supports the Turkish Accelerator and Radiation Laboratory (TARLA), which recently put into operation the electron accelerator, which is expected to pave the way for science and engineering research in many areas from health to aviation, from the environment to space, and stated that the entire legacy of nuclear energy is in TENMAK.

Karaveli, reminding that the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority has transformed into TENMAK, said, “While TENMAK provides support to nuclear technology with its own institutes and working ecosystem, it is in correct communication with its components such as TARLA. As a main focus, the world is experiencing a new golden age in nuclear energy, especially since it claims to be a carbon-free energy source.”

Karaveli, who stated that the development of technologies in this field is the biggest target in Turkey, which has its own power plant in such an age, said, “In this sense, Turkey is making every effort to develop this ecosystem with TARLA and similar structures. The main role here falls to TENMAK. In this field, there are projects that we present to the public and that industrial organizations and academics receive both project support and projects they carry out together with us. The TARLA process is a process that we support in this way.”

Karaveli also pointed out that the institution supports technologies currently used in the world and technologies that will be used in the new period, and noted the following:

“We are building power plants. The concept of a nuclear facility does not only provide energy, which is its main purpose, but also provides support for the side areas. For example, if you have a nuclear infrastructure, you can produce energy and medicine, or you can benefit from it in the agricultural sector. Therefore, the localization and placement of technology used with traditional methods is our first goal. Our second goal is to include new generation technologies that we see in the world. Therefore, in all our calls, supports, and in the TARLA process, we are trying to support both traditional and new generation technologies together and ensure that they are included in our country.”

“Digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence are indispensable for the energy sector”

Karaveli, mentioning that the institution did not skip artificial intelligence in terms of supporting new generation technologies, said, “Digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence are indispensable for the energy sector. Because you can only optimize energy and manage it in the most accurate way by including digitalization and artificial intelligence.”

For this reason, Karaveli stated that in all of TENMAK’s studies, how artificial intelligence can be included when developing a product is evaluated, and shared the information that the institution has a special institute for this.

Karaveli stated that the institute continues its work in a wide range from the autonomy of energy use in the industrial sector to the autonomy of vehicles in the transportation sector, and said, “Artificial intelligence optimizes the use of energy and brings it to the most accurate level, and facilitates the use of the technologies used. In addition, as artificial intelligence and digitalization come into play, the demand for energy naturally increases and you need to make additional investments to meet the energy demand. In other words, the institution uses artificial intelligence intensively and is preparing for this, thinking that it will be used intensively in other sectors to meet the energy demand in the future.”