Hydrogen Energy and Its Potential

Hydrogen is labelled with different colours according to its extraction method. Accordingly, the following colouring scheme is applied:

• “green” if hydrogen is produced from renewable energy;


• “blue” if it is produced by capturing carbon dioxide from fossil fuels;


• “turquoise” if it is produced from fossil fuels without carbon dioxide;


• “grey” if it is produced by the re-formation of natural gas;


• “pink" if it is generated through electrolysis powered by nuclear energy; and


• “brown” if it is produced from coal.

Hydrogen is considered to be an ideal energy resources that is safe and easy to transport, can be used in many industries, is storable and renewable, is clean and economical. The potential in Türkiye is quite high. Hydrogen can be used in heat production in the manufacturing industry where fuel is needed to produce heat. Hydrogen can also be used in electricity generation and to reduce emissions in the transport industry. Hydrogen can be transported through existing natural gas pipelines following modifications and can contribute to emission reduction by mixing certain ratios into natural gas during the transition.

Europe’s Hydrogen Strategy

The European Green Deal announced in 2019 aims to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in Europe by 2050. Accordingly, the European Climate Law was approved by the European Union member states in 2021 and it provided a legal ground for achieving net zero emissions by 2050. One of the European Union's long-term goals is to increase the share of hydrogen in Europe's energy consumption to 13-14% by 2050. In March 2022, the European Commission announced the REPowerEU Plan to reduce fossil fuel imports from Russia because of the Russia-Ukraine war. According to the REPowerEU Plan, the production of 10 million tons of green hydrogen and the import of 10 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030 is envisaged.

Türkiye’s Hydrogen Strategy

In Türkiye, hydrogen was introduced as an alternative fuel to be promoted under the Energy Efficiency Law that entered into force in 2007. This was followed by the Regulation on the Type Approval of Hydrogen Powered Motor Vehicles (the “Type Approval Regulation”) in 2011. The Type Approval Regulation set out the requirements for the type approval of hydrogen-powered motor vehicles.

In light of the global developments on sustainability, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (the “Ministry”) announced the National Energy and Mining Policy in 2017 with the primary goal of reducing dependence on imported energy resources. In the Regulation on the Principles and Procedures for Increasing Energy Efficiency in Transportation issued by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in 2019, hydrogen was defined as an alternative fuel for motor vehicles and its use in the transport sector was promoted.

Following the publication of the Paris Agreement in the Official Gazette on 7 October 2021 and the announcement of the net zero emission target for 2053, important steps have been taken in Türkiye for renewable energy integration. Shortly thereafter, the Ministry published Türkiye’s National Energy Plan, which envisages emission reduction by mixing hydrogen and synthetic methane into natural gas by 2035.

Türkiye aims to adopt a carbon-neutral economy model using hydrogen for economic development to achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2053. Accordingly, the Türkiye Hydrogen Technologies Strategy and Roadmap (the “Report”) was issued by the Ministry. The Report states that one of the objectives is to reduce the cost of green hydrogen generation below USD 2.4 per kilogram by 2035 and below USD 1.2 per kilogram by 2053. Türkiye also aims to increase the installed power capacity of electrolysers for the production of hydrogen to 2 gigawatts in 2030, 5 gigawatts in 2035 and 70 gigawatts in 2053, respectively.

The Report also discusses Türkiye’s needs regarding hydrogen technologies and technological/supportive solutions for such needs. The necessary infrastructure for hydrogen production from domestic resources (natural gas, lignite and organic wastes) will be assessed and pilot plants are envisaged. A large-scale hydrogen pilot region consisting of different sectors will be designated for hydrogen production by using renewable energy resources. In this context, Enerjisa reported that they invested in hydrogen production and storage as part of a pilot project at the Bandırma Energy Base and started to produce green hydrogen through electrolysers[1].

The Report establishes the following policies:

• adapting legislation for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen;


• promoting commercial demand and investments through public and private sector projects/initiatives;


• cooperating internationally on industry, technology, standard and certification development, supply chain and trade opportunities;


• promoting the use of green hydrogen in all relevant sectors, especially in sectors where carbon emission is difficult to reduce, such as iron and steel, transportation, glass, ceramics, etc.;


• using domestic resources such as boron mines for hydrogen storage; and


• exporting green hydrogen surplus to the world and particularly to the European market.

Conclusion

Türkiye will spark investors’ interest in the field of hydrogen energy because of its high hydrogen potential. The policies presented in the Report should be implemented in accordance with the net zero pledges and this requires a comprehensive legal framework. However, the existing legal framework, including the Type Approval Regulation, is insufficient for regulating hydrogen-related matters. Therefore, a detailed legal framework should be introduced in the form of primary and secondary legislation covering the production, distribution and storage of hydrogen, as well as the licensing and inspection of hydrogen facilities. Türkiye will proceed with more confident steps towards its net zero emission target once the legal uncertainties in this context are resolved.