Sector News
Reaching international energy and climate goals requires a sharp acceleration in clean energy innovation
New IEA special report shows critical need for research and development and other innovation efforts to achieve net-zero emissions objectives.
Without a major acceleration in clean energy innovation, countries and companies around the world will be unable to fulfil their pledges to bring their carbon emissions down to net-zero in the coming decades, according to a special report released today by the International Energy Agency.
The report assesses the ways in which clean energy innovation can be significantly accelerated to achieve net-zero emissions while enhancing energy security in a timeframe compatible with international climate and sustainable energy goals. The Special Report on Clean Energy Innovation is the first publication in the IEA’s revamped Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) series and includes a comprehensive new tool analysing the market readiness of more than 400 clean energy technologies.
“There is a stark disconnect today between the climate goals that governments and companies have set for themselves and the current state of affordable and reliable energy technologies that can realise these goals,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director. “This report examines how quickly energy innovation would have to move forward to bring all parts of the economy – including challenging sectors like long-distance transport and heavy industry – to net-zero emissions by 2050 without drastic changes to how we go about our lives. This analysis shows that getting there would hinge on technologies that have not yet even reached the market today. The message is very clear: in the absence of much faster clean energy innovation, achieving net-zero goals in 2050 will be all but impossible.”
A significant part of the challenge comes from major sectors where there are currently few technologies available for reducing emissions to zero, such as shipping, trucking, aviation and heavy industries like steel, cement and chemicals. Decarbonising these sectors will largely require the development of new technologies that are not currently in commercial use. However, the innovation process that takes a product from the research lab to the mass market can be long, and success is not guaranteed. It took decades for solar panels and batteries to reach the stage they are at now. Time is in even shorter supply now.
Notably, the report highlights the importance of making sure crucial clean energy solutions are ready in time for the start of multi-decade investment cycles in key industries. Doing so could create huge markets for new technologies and avoid locking in vast amounts of emissions for decades to come. If key technologies become available by 2030 to take advantage of the next round of plant refurbishments in heavy industry, nearly 60 gigatonnes of carbon emissions could be avoided.
Another issue is that many of the clean energy technologies that are available today – such as offshore wind turbines, electric vehicles and certain applications of carbon capture, utilisation and storage – need a continued push on innovation to bring down costs and accelerate deployment.
Around three-quarters of the cumulative reductions in carbon emissions that would be needed to move the world onto a sustainable path would come from technologies that have not yet reached full maturity, according to the IEA report. For example, it would require rapid progress in new battery designs that are still at the prototype stage now to shift long-distance transport from fossil fuels to electricity.
But the public and private sectors are currently falling short of delivering the innovation efforts to back up their net-zero ambitions – and the Covid-19 crisis is threatening to further undermine projects around the world focused on developing vital new energy technologies.
“A recent IEA survey revealed that companies that are developing net-zero emissions technologies consider it likely that their research and development budgets will be reduced, a clear sign of the damage that the Covid-19 crisis could do to clean energy innovation,” Dr Birol said. “Now is not the time to weaken support for this essential work. If anything, it is time to strengthen it.”
To help guide policy makers at this challenging time, the IEA report offers five key innovation principles for governments that aim to deliver net-zero emissions while enhancing energy security:
- Prioritise, track and adjust. Review the processes for selecting technology portfolios for public support to ensure that they are rigorous, collective, flexible and aligned with local advantages.
- Raise public R&D and market-led private innovation. Use a range of tools – from public research and development to market incentives – to expand funding according to the different technologies.
- Address all links in the value chain. Look at the bigger picture to ensure that all components of key value chains are advancing evenly towards the next market application and exploiting spillovers.
- Build enabling infrastructure. Mobilise private finance to help bridge the “valley of death” by sharing the investment risks of network enhancements and commercial-scale demonstrators.
- Work globally for regional success. Co-operate to share best practices, experiences and resources to tackle urgent and global technology challenges, including via existing multilateral platforms.
In particular, the report highlights issues requiring immediate attention in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, such as the importance of governments maintaining research and development funding at planned levels through 2025 and considering raising it in strategic areas. It stresses that market-based policies and funding can help scale up value chains for small, modular technologies with overlapping innovation needs like new types of batteries and electrolysers, significantly advancing their progress.
“Together with the Sustainable Recovery Plan that the IEA presented last month, this innovation report will provide the foundation for the IEA Clean Energy Transitions Summit on 9 July,” Dr Birol said. “The Summit will be the most important global event on energy and climate issues of 2020, bringing together more than 40 government ministers, industry CEOs and other energy leaders from countries representing 80% of global energy use and emissions. The aim is to build a grand coalition to help drive economic development and job creation by accelerating transitions towards clean, resilient and inclusive energy systems.”
Two experienced professionals in Türkiye’s wind energy sector are taking their long-standing relationship to the next level through a strategic collaboration. Alper Kalaycı, Co-Founder of EnconIQ Energy Consultancy Ltd., and Levent İshak, Co-Founder of Lewind Energy Consultancy Ltd., will collaborate to develop new projects and improve the performance of existing wind power plants.
Kalaycı and İshak, whose friendship dates back to their studies at Dokuz Eylül University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1991, are carrying nearly 35 years of shared experience into this new partnership. Both have been actively involved in the wind energy sector since 1998 and aim to further leverage their accumulated expertise through this collaboration.
By combining their complementary capabilities, the two will work together on both the development of new investments and the enhancement of operational efficiency in existing wind power plants.
Türkiye’s targets provide momentum for the sector
Commenting on the collaboration, Alper Kalaycı highlighted Türkiye’s energy transition:
“In line with our country’s 2035 targets, we need to increase our current wind installed capacity by approximately three times. This clearly demonstrates the strong growth potential of our sector. In the coming period, significant opportunities are expected both in new investments and in local manufacturing. With this collaboration, we aim to make more effective use of these opportunities.”
Operation and maintenance play a critical role
Levent İshak emphasized the importance of the operational phase:
“One of the most significant cost components in wind energy projects is operation and maintenance. Structuring these processes correctly from the outset, designing contracts accordingly, properly identifying risks, and managing them effectively are of great importance. Ensuring that this structure is implemented correctly during operation is critical for long-term performance. With this collaboration, we aim to create value both in structuring long-term contracts for new projects and in improving the performance of existing power plants.”
Complementary expertise, shared vision
The collaboration brings together Alper Kalaycı’s experience in manufacturing, localization, and project development with Levent İshak’s expertise in turbine supply, maintenance, service, and operations, aiming to create a strong synergy within the sector.
ENERCON will supply wind turbine technology for another major project in Türkiye. For the “Balıkesir 1” wind farm in the northwest of the country, operator Polat Enerji has ordered 23 wind turbines of ENERCON’s new flagship model, the E-175 EP5 E2. The supply contract was signed on 27 April in Istanbul. With a total capacity of 161 MW, the wind farm is part of the YEKA 5 tender, for which Polat Enerji recently received the award from the Turkish Ministry of Energy.
“We have enjoyed a long-standing and close cooperation with Polat Enerji in the expansion of wind energy in Türkiye,” said Udo Bauer, CEO of ENERCON. “With ‘Balıkesir 1’, we will have jointly realised more than 1 gigawatt of installed capacity in Türkiye. We intend to continue this partnership for the energy transition together in the future. We are very pleased to implement the ‘Balıkesir 1’ project together using our new E-175 EP5 E2 turbine model.”
“Our journey began a quarter-century ago with an early and firm belief in Türkiye’s renewable energy potential,” said Evren Güvenç, CEO of Polat Enerji. “Today, Polat Enerji has evolved into a strategic player managing high-scale investments across Türkiye and Europe. The Balıkesir 1 project, secured through the YEKA tenders, is a testament to our continuous growth; for us, leadership is defined by more than just increasing installed capacity. We measure our progress not only by power output but by our optimisation capabilities and system flexibility. By leveraging our end-to-end expertise – from investment to operation – we are reinforcing our position as a pioneering actor shaping the transformation of the entire energy landscape.”
The E-175 EP5 E2 is ENERCON’s new top model. With a rated power of 7.0 MW and a rotor diameter of 175 metres, it is one of the most powerful onshore wind turbines in Europe in terms of energy yield. The E-175 EP5 E2 is also a central pillar of the company’s market strategy and forms the basis of the solution portfolio with which ENERCON supports its customers.
The supply agreement for the “Balıkesir 1” wind farm marks another milestone in the market launch of the E-175 EP5 E2 in Türkiye. The country is an important international strategic target market for ENERCON. To supply Turkish wind farm projects with the new E-175 EP5 E2, ENERCON will continue its proven localisation strategy with long-standing Turkish production partners and will also manufacture selected main components of the new top model in the country in the future.
“This allows us to meet the local content requirements of the Turkish tender system,” said Arif Günyar, Regional Head of the Central Asia / Middle East / Africa (CAMEA) region. “We are fully committed to the Turkish market and to the energy transition in Türkiye. We look forward to opening a new chapter of cooperation with Polat Enerji as well as with other Turkish customers and interested parties.”
Construction of the “Balıkesir 1” wind farm is scheduled to begin in September 2027, with commissioning expected by the end of December 2027. A total of 23 wind turbines will be installed on steel towers.
Gülle Entegre Tekstil İşletmeleri, one of Türkiye’s leading integrated yarn and fabric manufacturers with 55 years of experience, has signed a wind turbine supply and service agreement with Goldwind for the Gülle Wind Power Plant (WPP) Project. The project aims to meet the energy consumption of its production facilities located in Ergene, Tekirdağ.
According to the agreement, the project, located in the Ergene district of Tekirdağ, will utilize Goldwind’s GW155-4.8MW turbine model, featuring a hub height of 110 meters, a capacity of 4.8 MW, and a rotor diameter of 155 meters. The agreement also includes a 10-year full-service package covering maintenance and availability services.
The Gülle WPP Project is planned to be commissioned in December 2026. Upon completion, the plant is expected to reach an annual electricity generation capacity of approximately 16 million kWh.
Mature Capital has provided two-phase advisory services to Gülle Entegre Tekstil from the initial concept stage of the investment. In the first phase, project development, advisory services included the preparation of economic and technical feasibility studies in line with current investment conditions, as well as strategic and procedural guidance on regulatory and permitting processes (such as EPDK, EIA, zoning, and grid connection procedures).
In the second phase, once the project reached a certain level of maturity in terms of permits, Mature Capital provided advisory services for wind turbine selection, final supplier decision-making, and the negotiation of turbine supply and service agreements.
Habib Babacan, General Manager of Mature Capital
Commenting on the agreement, Habib Babacan, General Manager of Mature Capital, stated:
“We are very pleased to see the outcome of our efforts and work materialize with this important agreement, which marks the realization of our approximately three-year collaboration with our investor, Gülle Entegre Tekstil.
We would like to thank the Goldwind Türkiye team for their cooperation and support during the contract phase, and our investor Gülle Entegre Tekstil for their trust in Mature Capital. We wish the Gülle WPP Project to be beneficial for both parties.”
About Mature Capital
Since 2022, Mature Capital has been exclusively focused on the wind energy sector, providing advisory services to investors in the areas of business development, project development, strategy formulation, and project transfer (M&A) for wind power projects.
In its fourth year of operation, the company has continued to expand its activities and has successfully completed 18 advisory projects with 15 different investor groups since its establishment.
Mature Capital will continue to provide high-quality and reliable services to wind energy investors in Türkiye.
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