Green hydrogen could be new player in Turkey’s exports to Europe

The production of green hydrogen from renewables could offer new opportunities for Turkey's exports to Europe, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) officials told Anadolu Agency.

Cristian Carraretto, associate director of Green Economy and Climate Action at EBRD, said countries like Turkey are on the very edge of this emerging market, which is seeing growing demand globally.

"Today, we globally use around 70 million tonnes of hydrogen and this is all coming from fossil fuels, including coal," he explained.

However, he envisages that in 15 years' time, there will only be greener hydrogen.

"The endgame is hydrogen from renewables," he said.

With Turkey's impressive renewables record having incredible hotspots for solar, wind both onshore and offshore, Carraretto said the country could be extremely well-positioned to react very quickly to developing renewable hydrogen.

Turkish companies are currently brainstorming the implications of using hydrogen for their businesses, he added.

In terms of the demand growth, Carraretto said that Europe is the driving force, which could create a window of opportunity for Turkey to produce green hydrogen for export to Europe.

"Turkey has a number of existing interconnections. The Southern Gas Corridor is a route to bring hydrogen into European markets or Turkey's shipping industry might consider bringing it to Europe," he said.

According to Emre Oguzoncul, Green Economy and Climate Action principal at EBRD Turkey, the country's established trade relations with Europe will serve Turkey well in enlarging the scope of its exports to include hydrogen.

Turkey is Europe's sixth-biggest trade partner, with trade with Europe marking half of all its...

Continue reading on: