Eksim Enerji CEO Arkın Akbay Evaluated the Roadmap for Energy Transition at COP31

Eksim Enerji CEO Arkın Akbay participated in the session titled “Scaling Up Renewable Energy: Energy Security, Climate Action and Regional Cooperation,” held at the Türkiye Pavilion within the scope of COP31, hosted by Türkiye in Antalya. Emphasizing that supply security, affordability and sustainability in the energy transition should be evaluated not as independent elements but as parts of an integrated system, Akbay stated that energy storage, grid integration, qualified human resources and industrial cooperation would be among the defining topics of the coming period.

Arkın Akbay, CEO of Eksim Enerji, which continues its production and investments in the field of renewable energy, made assessments at the panel regarding the transformation of energy systems and regional cooperation. Addressing Türkiye’s energy transformation over the past 20 years from a producer’s perspective, Akbay drew attention to the importance of considering the increase in renewable energy capacity, distributed generation, energy efficiency, storage and nuclear energy together.

“We must address the three elements within a single design”

Touching upon the importance of COP31’s approach of moving from targets to implementation, Eksim Enerji CEO Arkın Akbay stated that the energy transition is not merely about adding new production capacity, and said the following:

“We have been talking about the energy trilemma for years: energy supply security, affordability and sustainability. At this stage of implementation, I believe these three elements now need to be addressed together within a single design. Türkiye is a good example in this regard. With the support of the policies implemented and the legislation established over the past 20 years, we have significantly increased our renewable energy production capacity. By adding solar energy to our portfolio following wind and geothermal, we have strengthened our resource diversity. Through distributed generation, support mechanisms, demand-side participation and battery storage solutions now being added to the system, we are advancing step by step on the energy supply security and affordability fronts.”

Noting that future energy systems will have a more complex and flexible structure, Akbay stated that baseload needs could be supported through a system in which renewable energy sources, large-scale nuclear power plants and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are used together.

Touching on the role of battery storage in the energy transition, Akbay said, “We do not see battery storage merely as another production source. We see it as an important component of the energy transition and, in a sense, as a ‘time machine.’ Because batteries allow us to economically carry the electrical energy produced to the time when we need it.”

“Cooperation with Europe on the energy transition must be two-sided”

Emphasizing that the renewable energy transition needs to bring together production, grid, storage, financing, engineering and manufacturing capabilities within the same ecosystem, Arkın Akbay drew attention to the importance of regional economic development and industrial cooperation.

Stating that the development of qualified human resources is one of the fundamental elements of the energy transition, Akbay said that mutually beneficial cooperation between Türkiye and Europe in the fields of education, industry and manufacturing needs to be strengthened.

Akbay included the following statements in his assessment:

“Türkiye’s young population offers significant potential for new cooperation to be established with Europe. Education systems need to create a stronger cooperation foundation that supports student and professional exchange. At the same time, an approach based on mutual benefit in industrial policies is also extremely important. If we want to grow stronger together, cooperation must always be two-sided. Türkiye has been a strong partner for European countries for many years and has achieved a significant part of its industrial development thanks to its exports to Europe.

We view Europe’s energy transition not only as a technological transformation, but also as a process of building a strong and resilient industrial ecosystem. Through its long-standing economic integration with Europe, the Customs Union, its strong production infrastructure and its position in European value chains, Türkiye is a natural part of this ecosystem. For this reason, we believe that in the implementation of the ‘Made in Europe’ approach, evaluating products manufactured in Türkiye that meet European standards on equal terms with products manufactured in EU member states would create mutual value for both Türkiye and Europe. Such an approach would strengthen Europe’s supply chain security and competitiveness, while also contributing to the scaling up of renewable energy investments and to reaching our common climate goals more quickly.”

Regional energy integration and new cooperation opportunities

Stating that Türkiye’s direct connection to the ENTSO-E system offers a significant advantage in terms of regional energy integration, Akbay said that grid connections could be developed within the framework of common standards and extended to a wider geography stretching from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and from there to the Gulf countries.

Noting that evaluating the renewable energy potential in different regions and delivering electricity to the markets where it is needed could create new cooperation opportunities in the fields of engineering, technology and manufacturing, Akbay pointed out that regional integration is one of the important topics that will support the energy transition.

Eksim Enerji CEO Arkın Akbay also participated in the panel titled “Transformation in Energy: Clean, Secure and Competitive Energy” within the scope of COP31, sharing his assessments on Türkiye’s energy transition and Eksim Enerji’s approach in this process.