Turkey and executing studies concerning the injection of hydrogen to natural gas distribution networks in European countries. In more than 50 projects in European countries, it is aimed to mix natural gas with hydrogen and deliver it to the final consumer. As GAZBIR, in the upcoming period, we will focus on our efforts to reduce carbon emission values and reduce natural gas imports as a result of mixing natural gas with hydrogen.

THE DEMAND FOR ENERGY is increasing every day with the new technological developments and production needs for the growing population in the world. Accordingly, countries aim to meet their energy needs with high efficient, low cost and environmentally friendly resources. In line with the energy policies of the countries, demand for natural gas and renewable resources will increase as expected in the following period. Turkey continues its investments in order to become one of the core countries in energy in its region. In line with this goal, representatives of the natural gas sector aim to be a sector that is constantly growing and brings innovations to Turkey.

‘THE NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION SECTOR IN TURKEY IS AN EXEMPLARY POSITION IN EUROPE’

Thanks to government supports and private sector investments made after 2003, the natural gas distribution sector has shown rapid growth and has started to operate in all provinces of Turkey as of the end of 2018. Natural gas distribution companies operating in 81 provinces and 561 settlements provide natural gas services to consumers without interruption and safely with about 15 thousand employees. Turkey, with its low loss-toleakage network using state-of-the-art technologies, is in a position that is especially exemplified by Eastern and Central European countries.

Distribution companies serve more than 17 million subscribers today using a natural gas network with a length of 154 thousand kilometers, while the goal for 2023 is to reach more than 19 million natural gas subscribers. In terms of subscriber penetration, the natural gas utilization rate in Turkey is ahead of many European countries with 65%. In the last 5 years, the number of subscribers has grown by an average of 8% per year, and with this growth rate, we are one of the countries with the highest growth rate among EU member states. With the studies to be carried out in the coming years, we aim to provide natural gas comfort to 3.5 million potential subscribers who do not use or cannot use natural gas for various reasons, even though natural gas comes to their door.

In recent years, about 92% of the natural gas consumed in Turkey has been delivered to the final consumer by natural gas distribution companies, while despite the difficulties experienced during the pandemic period, thanks to investments made in 2020, this figure is estimated to reach around 94%.

‘HYDROGEN WILL BE ON THE ENERGY AGENDA BOTH IN THE WORLD AND IN TURKEY’

In Turkey and European countries, studies are being carried out on the injection of hydrogen into the natural gas distribution network. In a total of more than 50 projects in many European countries, especially Germany, it is aimed to mix natural gas with hydrogen and deliver it to the final consumer, and applications are carried out in pilot regions. Studies on the integration of hydrogen into the natural gas distribution network are continuing at GAZMER’s R&D center in Konya, which is the technical center of GAZBIR.

The aim of the project is to reduce the carbon emission values of natural gas to the lowest level as a result of mixing natural gas with hydrogen in the following years and to reduce the import of natural gas thanks to the hydrogen obtained by domestic resources. The injection of hydrogen obtained by wind and solar energy into natural gas at a rate of up to 10% in the Phase-1 phase and 15% in the Phase-2 phase was successfully completed. Considering the economic effects of the project, as a result of mixing natural gas with hydrogen with a rate of 10%, natural gas imports of about US $ 2 billion per year can be prevented. Thanks to this project, the natural gas bill, which is about 12-13 billion US dollars per year, may decrease by about 15% in the coming years.

‘IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS, TURKEY’S PLACE IN THE ENERGY EQUATION MAY CHANGE’

In the current situation, our external dependence rate on natural gas is around 99%. With approximately 405 billion cubic meters of natural gas discovered in the Black Sea in recent months, the rate of meeting energy demand with domestic resources will increase in the coming years. Considering the production capacity of similar natural gas fields, it seems that 10-15 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be produced annually from the region. Almost all housing demand will be able to be met with domestic resources. As a result of ongoing research, the discovery of new reserves will open the way for Turkey to meet the demand for natural gas in the domestic market by its own resources, as well as to export natural gas to neighboring and regional countries. Thus, we can say that Turkey can become a bigger player in the energy markets in the next 5-10 years.