The energy supply problem, which is the biggest need of the world and our country, is increasing every year. Turkey's electricity and natural gas supply problem, which started recently, caused restriction decisions to be taken in industrial centers. In our country, energy is obtained from coal, water reserves, natural gas and oil. Nuclear power plants that are expected to be completed will also be a part of this. However, studies related to thorium, which is called “green nuclear energy” and which the big and developed countries in the world have turned to in recent years, are almost limited in our country. No serious effort was made regarding thorium, which came back to our country's agenda with the mysterious death of Prof. Dr. Engin Arık and his team in a plane crash in 2007. Although we have a large part of the world's thorium reserves on our soil, thorium continues to lie underground as a reserve. Our energy needs are increasing day by day.
TURKEY IS EXTERNALLY DEPENDED ON ENERGY PRODUCTION
Turkey is dependent on foreign energy production due to insufficient energy resources. While the annual energy consumption per capita is 3,155 kilowatt-hours in the world and 3 thousand 58 kilowatt-hours in Turkey, billions of dollars of money in our country have to be spent on primary energy sources purchased from abroad only for energy production, due to foreign dependency. For electricity production in Turkey in 2019, 32 percent coal, 29 percent natural gas, 32 percent hydroelectric power plants, 8 percent wind, 6 percent solar and 1 percent geothermal were produced. While the need for energy is increasing day by day, Turkey has to import the majority of primary resources, since most of the resources required for energy production are low in reserve resources. While much more efficient energy is produced in thorium-based nuclear power plants compared to uranium-based nuclear plants, it causes almost negligible nuclear waste compared to uranium-based nuclear plants. Thorium is known as “green nuclear energy” because its waste rate is low and its efficiency is very high.
THORIUM BASED NUCLEAR ENERGY STUDIES IN THE WORLD
In order to meet their energy needs, some countries in the world have been continuing their thorium-based nuclear studies for a while. Serious studies on this subject in the world began in the 1960s. While research and development studies continue in Germany, India, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the USA, India launched its thorium-doped nuclear facility in 2016. With this technology, India aims to meet 30 percent of its energy needs with a thorium-based power plant by 2030. Many countries in the world continue to work on thorium-based power plants. Most recently, China conducted a test on the basis of "Melted Salt Reactors", which is an indispensable part of thorium-based nuclear facilities.
RESERVES IN THE WORLD
According to Eti Maden data, while there are 6,730,000 tons of thorium in the world in total, the country with the most reserves is India with 846,500 tons. If the estimated reserves are included, Turkey ranks first in the world, ahead of India with its 880,000 tons of thorium reserves. It is followed by Brazil with 606,000 tons, Australia with 521,000 tons, the United States with 434,000 tons and Egypt with 380,000 tons.
RESERVE AMOUNT IN OUR COUNTRY
Although Turkey has one of the world's leading thorium reserves, discussions continue about the reserve ratio in the country. According to the findings obtained by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) in the Eskişehir-Sivrihisar region, it is known that Turkey's proven thorium reserve is 380,000 tons. While the exploration works for the thorium mine in Turkey are continuing, in addition to the reserve in the Eskişehir region, serious reserves have been identified in the Isparta-Aksu region. In the detection studies carried out in the Malatya-Hekimhan region, it is expected that there will be serious reserves in terms of thorium reserves. According to the information compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), it was stated that the total thorium reserve in Turkey is approximately 880,000 tons.
Thorium in Turkey was on the agenda in 2002, but systematic studies could not be started
For the first time in Turkey, the energy dimension of thorium and the thorium resources in Turkey came to the fore in an interview given by Prof. Dr. Engin Arık in 2002. With the interview, although the studies for the determination of thorium sources in Turkey have started again, it has been recorded that there are 330,000 tons of thorium detected in Turkey. However, it is estimated that there are 880 thousand tons of thorium reserves. Thorium came to the fore again after 2002, when the plane, which included Prof. Dr. Engin Arık, was martyred after the plane crashed in Isparta in 2007. 4 working groups and coordination groups were established with the workshop titled "Thorium Fueled Nuclear Technologies" held in Eskişehir on January 6-7, 2003. The TAEK Presidency of the time did not continue the process. After the workshop, a one-day thorium meeting was held at the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, and then the first Science and Technology High Council decision regarding thorium was taken.
PROFESSOR SALEH SULTANSOY, WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THORIUM STUDIES
Saleh Sultansoy, one of the important scientists living today and working in the field of high energy physics in our country, made important statements to our newspaper about thorium studies. Sultansoy stated that thorium came to Turkey's agenda with an interview published in 2002 by Prof. Dr. Engin Arık, who was martyred in a plane crash in 2007.
"Although the highest level decisions were taken many times on thorium, they were not implemented. In 2003, the budget allocated by the State Planning Organization for Turkish scientists to participate in thorium-related studies at CERN was returned without being spent by the TAEK administration at that time. Today, thorium studies based on the accelerator version system are carried out within the framework of the MYRRHA project of the European Union (with the participation of Russia, Japan, Kazakhstan and other countries). Despite our repeated suggestions, Turkey did not become a member of this project. The €1 billion MYRRHA project was scheduled to take place in the second half of the 2020s. If all goes well, it could be commercialized in the 2030s," he said.
THE GOVERNMENT SIDE PREPARED A REPORT IN 2013 BUT THE EFFORT IS ONLY IN THE REPORT
In the energy report published by the AK Party in 2013 with the title "Perspective Energy", although a search for solutions to Turkey's energy problem was made, solutions to the energy problem have not been implemented in the past 8 years. In the report, natural gas, coal, petroleum, uranium and thorium-based nuclear energy issues were handled by experts and the solution potentials to the energy problem were discussed comparatively. However, the thorium studies mentioned in the report were not implemented.
In its meeting held on November 20, 2007, the Supreme Council of Science and Technology (BTYK) decided to implement the "National Nuclear Technology Development Program" with a budget of 3 billion dollars. Within the framework of the National Program, structures such as the "Thorium Center of Excellence" and the "Gev Energy Proton Accelerator" had to be established and put into practice in Turkey until 2015. With this decision, the highest resolutions regarding nuclear and thorium resources were not implemented.
EMBARGO FROM TAEK TO THORIA WORKSHOP
Under the leadership of the engineer Canip Sevinç, who retired from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, General Directorate of Energy Affairs in 2015, the decisions taken in 2007 but not implemented were brought to the agenda again in 2013. "The 2nd National Workshop on Thorium Fueled Reactors" was held with the participation of academics from various universities. The official final declaration prepared at the workshop was not published. In fact, the TAEK administration of the time forbade its employees to attend the workshop.