Climate change is a negotiation process that began in 1992 with the World Conference in Rio de Janeiro, which was sparked by the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution 45/212 in 1990, which established the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Agreement on Climate Change. It is a matter of international security.
Climate change is, without a doubt, the outcome of human activity today, as a result of a process that began with the industrial revolution and increased demand on resources as a result of population expansion. Energy transformation is one of the measures proposed to address this challenge, which has begun to appear on state security agendas. Renewable energy is becoming more prominent at this time, both to battle climate change, which has severe consequences in a variety of sectors ranging from the environment to the economy and security, and to reduce foreign reliance. Although wind, solar, bioenergy, and hydroelectricity are regularly on the menu in this change, hydrogen energy has recently gained traction.
Hydrogen energy may be defined as a source of energy obtained by the conversion of hydrogen, which is found in nature as compounds. In other words, when hydrogen atoms split from oxygen atoms, this energy source develops. Hydrogen energy has recently been viewed as one of the energy choices that might be utilized to meet the Paris Agreement’s decarbonization goals.
The creation of hydrogen energy is represented by various colors. As a result, hydrogen energy may be created using a variety of energy sources. Gray hydrogen is made from fossil fuels, blue hydrogen is made from natural gas, turquoise hydrogen is made from thermal cracking of methane and is still in the experimental stage, and green hydrogen is made from renewable energy. Green hydrogen is viewed as a way to meet the Paris Climate Agreement’s obligations while also solving the world’s energy crisis. Currently, 70 million tons of hydrogen are consumed each year from fossil fuels. Within a 30-year timeframe, it is expected that hydrogen will be created from renewable sources.
In this vein, Japan has invested in green hydrogen to meet its zero-carbon emissions goal, while China has authorized a big green hydrogen project to offset its annual gasoline use of 180 million gallons. China plans to use hydrogen energy to generate 10% of its power with these investments. By 2025, the United States intends to build a facility in New York that will create 500 tons of green hydrogen per day. Furthermore, a 130 billion dollar hydrogen energy project is anticipated to be executed within the European Union’s (EU) borders in the not-too-distant future. Furthermore, as part of the Green Deal document’s zero-emissions aim for 2050, EU leaders agreed on a 1 trillion euro budget to meet the 2030 and 2050 targets. Using the money for initiatives that include green (clean) hydrogen as part of the climate objectives that have been set. While the globe is in this state, the importance of hydrogen in Turkey’s energy policy is growing by the day.
Turkey is preparing a transformation path in line with its net-zero emission objective by 2053, which it established with its recent acceptance of the Paris Climate Agreement. Green hydrogen is one of the options that will play a crucial role in satisfying Turkey’s energy demands, reducing reliance on energy imports, and establishing a new export item as part of this change.
Turkey has the capacity to produce 1.6 million tons of green hydrogen, according to the SHURA Energy Conversion Center’s report “Priority Areas for Turkey’s National Hydrogen Strategy” (4.6 million tons of oil equivalent). In reality, this means that this resource meets 5% of Turkey’s yearly energy demands. At the same time, this prospect represents a 45 billion dollar investment opportunity.
“We will regularly hear the word hydrogen energy in the future,” stated Fatih Dönmez, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. He believes that this alternative energy source should be included in Turkey’s energy policy. As a result, Turkey’s initial approach for hydrogen energy is to incorporate it into the existing natural gas network in order to lower the cost of natural gas imports.
The second aspect of green hydrogen energy is that Turkey’s 1.6 million-ton potential for green hydrogen represents a new export commodity. As a result, Turkey’s hydrogen can be exported to Europe. Germany’s announcement last year that green hydrogen may be acquired from Turkey as part of its national hydrogen plan can be used as an illustration of this issue. Furthermore, hydrogen may be transferred to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor, which runs via Turkey and transports Azerbaijani gas. This circumstance will strengthen Turkey’s position in European energy security while also adding to the country’s geopolitical significance.
With green hydrogen, Turkey will make a new step in its energy diversification, obtaining a resource that will help it meet the Paris Agreement’s zero-emissions objective, and gaining a new power that will bolster its position in the region’s energy geopolitics, owing to its export potential.
In brief, nations are turning to renewable energy to satisfy their energy demands and minimize their reliance on foreign sources, as well as to meet emission reduction or decarbonization objectives set in the context of addressing climate change. Green hydrogen is one of the energy sources that has recently been added to the energy portfolio. This may be observed in the investments in green hydrogen that the major players in energy geopolitics have made/will make.
Turkey is one of the countries that has made green hydrogen energy, or hydrogen generation from renewable energy sources, a priority. The topic is significant for Turkey in a variety of ways, including the economy, foreign policy, energy security, and environmental preservation. Turkey diversifies its energy sources while also relying on its own resources to maintain energy security. In this environment, renewable energies have begun to play a larger role in Turkey’s energy mix.
One of the sources that comes to the fore in energy transformation is green hydrogen. With its high potential green hydrogen, Turkey will have made a new step in energy diversification, reducing its energy imports and/or foreign energy dependency, and obtaining a resource that will both contribute to the Paris Agreement’s zero emission target and will be available in the region thanks to the new export opportunity. It will gain a new source of influence, bolstering its position in the geopolitics of energy.
