Turkey well positioned to export green hydrogen to Europe says EBRD executive

The production of green hydrogen from renewables could offer Turkey a new export opportunity on the European market, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) officials told state-run news service Anadolu Agency.

Countries like Turkey are very well positioned to capitalise on this emerging market, which is seeing growing demand globally, according to Cristian Carraretto, associate director of Green Economy and Climate Action for EBRD.

“"Today, we globally use around 70mn tonnes of hydrogen and this is all coming from fossil fuels, including coal," he explained, adding that in 15 years' time, there would only be greener hydrogen.

“The endgame is hydrogen from renewables,” said Carraretto.

With Turkey’s impressive renewables record in solar, and onshore and offshore wind, the country could be extremely well placed to respond very quickly to the need to develop renewable hydrogen, Carraretto noted.

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

In terms of growth in demand, Carraretto said that Europe is the driving force, meaning a window of opportunity potentially existed 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.