National Technology Initiative in Energy

The energy policies of Türkiye, in a general sense, are based on meeting increasing demand in an affordable and sustainable manner and development of environmentally sensitive energy systems. Türkiye as a developing country, transformed its energy sector in order to meet its increasing energy demand historically. Different concerns triggered this energy sector transition in different terms. In the 1980s and 1990s, reforms were made in order to increase use of natural gas, to establish a legal and regulatory framework for enabling private sector investments to meet increasing energy demand, to restructure of state entities, and to increase infrastructure investments. In the 2000s, the establishment of energy markets, increasing energy security, ensuring energy efficiency, and use of nuclear energy were revealed as main policies. While seeking to meet its energy demand in an uninterruptable and secure manner, Türkiye has been realizing its clean energy transition by considering energy costs as a net energy importer country and its own specific energy dynamics. Türkiye aims to decrease its costs and emissions by utilizing clean and domestic sources, contribute to minimize its carbon intensity to the level possible by producing power from nuclear energy and increase energy efficiency applications. The energy transition of Türkiye has entered a new era after the ratification of Paris Agreement in 2021 and announcement of 2053 net zero target. Türkiye will continue to increase use of clean energy sources and promote integration of clean technologies into the energy systems to secure its sustainable development and to reach a net zero target. In this regard, Türkiye targets to utilize hydrogen into the energy sector as a new source as well as to digitalize the energy sector and minimize its carbon intensity to the level possible. Nationalization of the essential technologies forming the energy value chain has an importance if we define elements of the energy systems as exploration, production, transmission, distribution, market structuring and consumption. The new era that is shaped towards net zero emission is pursuing a development-oriented approach. In this regard, the biggest opportunity within this period is to become an exporter of decarbonization technologies by means of a move towards technology development.