Use of Biomass to be Produced from Red Sea Algae in the Production of Valuable Bio-components

The consultancy of the project carried out by Kırıkkale University with the feasibility support provided by Ahiler Development Agency was done by GTE. In the project, it is aimed to reduce negative environmental impacts by using microalgae production and wastewater treatment synergistically and to provide commercial benefits for different sectors of algae biomass.

The project was completed in February 2021. During the feasibility study, a technical/economic feasibility study was conducted for a pilot plant for an innovative microalgae system that will provide nutrient recovery by treating wastewater with an intersectoral “symbiotic approach”.

Media Recovery and Value-Added Fertilizer Production from Biogas Plant Wastes

“Media Recovery from Biogas Facility Wastes”, under the direction of METU Environmental Engineering Department (Assist. Prof. Dr. Yasemin Dilşad Yılmazel), where Cranfield University (Dr. Imma Bortone) and GTE are the project partners and SÜTAŞ is the beneficiary. and Fertilizer Production with High Value Added project was supported by the Katip Çelebi-Newton Fund under the joint program of the Royal Academy of Engineering (United Kingdom) and TUBITAK.

The main purpose of the project is to transform wastewater, which causes significant environmental problems when not treated sufficiently, into valuable products. Within the scope of the project, which will last for 2 years, the use of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) compounds, which can cause various operational problems in biogas plants and are found extensively in wastewater, for the production of “Struvite”, a valuable fertilizer, will be investigated.

Zero Carbon Point

With the EU Civil Society Dialogue CSD-V Grant, the “Zero Carbon Point” project was implemented in partnership with the Lifelong Learning Vocational Education and Development Association, Aegean Forest Foundation, RENAC energy & Climate GmbH. In the project, it is aimed to observe the activities that will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt the components in the renewable energy sector to daily life and to exhibit good practice examples in the efficient use of natural resources.

Within the scope of the project, GTE carried out the preparation of the Water Footprint Calculation Module and the Carbon Footprint Calculation Module to be used on the Aegean Forest Foundation website. It is aimed that the modules will be a module that uses data on a provincial basis for Turkey and allows for original calculations. All necessary items (direct and indirect water footprint calculations and blue, green and grey water footprint calculations for water footprint; air and road transportation tab for carbon footprint, electricity consumption tab, domestic heating tab that allows calculation for data of different fuel types) have been taken into account to calculate the personal footprint in the water and carbon footprint modules.

Paris Agreement Article 6 Market Mechanisms and Turkey’s Evaluation of Options

With the team of GTE, ERCST and ReedSmith, T.C. Under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, with the support of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the Paris Agreement Article 6 Market Mechanisms and Turkey’s Options Evaluation project is carried out. The aim of the project is to evaluate opportunities and possibilities for Turkey to benefit from Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and to build capacity and analytical knowledge for policy makers in Turkey.

Within the scope of the project, the interactions between new market mechanisms and possible emissions trading systems (ETS) in Turkey will be analyzed. Reviewing the current situation of Turkey, developing a negotiation strategy for Turkey on Article 6, organizing a workshop and preparing a report will be carried out.

A stakeholder meeting was held on 6-7 February 2020 with the participation of public and private sector representatives operating in Ankara, where issues such as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Carbon Markets, COP25, Kyoto Protocol, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change were discussed.

Climate Change Resistant Thermal Energy Production

Within the framework of the “Climate Change-Resistant Thermal Energy Generation” project carried out by EÜAŞ with the support of the British Embassy Welfare Fund and supervised by GTE, studies were carried out on the impact of climate change on electricity production in thermal power plants.

Increasing air and water temperature as a result of climate change and decreases and increases in the amount of water reduce the efficiency of thermal power plants and cause interruptions in their activities. In addition to the economic losses and the problems in security of supply, decreased power plant efficiency causes more fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, studies to determine the effects of climate change on energy production and to reduce these effects gain great importance. Within the scope of this project, a report has been prepared in which the relationship between water and energy is examined in detail at the level of power plants belonging to EÜAŞ, which is expected to have a guiding effect in the electricity generation sector.

Climate Resilience in the Energy Sector: Turkey – Risk Assessment and Investment Needs

GTE, together with Tractebel Engie, who is the project leader, aimed to determine the potential effects and amount of climate change on the energy production and transmission systems in Turkey in the project, which was supported by the EBRD in 2016-2017.

In accordance with the purpose of the project, initial evaluations were made regarding the most economically and technically appropriate solutions for climate vulnerabilities in the energy sector, and a water density methodology was developed for energy production in Turkey and country-level evaluation studies were carried out. In addition to case studies, a national workshop was organized within the scope of the project.

MidSEFF III

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) launched the Medium-Scale Sustainable Energy Financing Program (MidSEFF) in 2011 to finance medium-scale sustainable energy investments (renewable energy (RE), waste energy (WtE)). In the same year, with the co-financing of the EBRD and the European Investment Bank, the program was expanded as MidSEFF Phase II and the total funds provided were brought to 1 billion Euros. After the allocation of funds under MidSEFF Phases I and II, MidSEFF III has been prepared. MidSEFF III has committed € 500 million to investments in renewable energy and resource efficiency. The aim of the program is to fill the financing gaps required for renewable energy and resource efficiency investments in Turkey, to improve the skills of banks in the technical evaluation of suitable technologies, and to increase the banks’ compliance with the EU’s environmental and social standards in the evaluation of medium-sized renewable energy and resource efficiency investments.

The aim of the project is to support the implementation of the program. Within the scope of the project, ensuring the compliance of sub-projects with EU environmental and social standards, transferring skills to local experts and participating financial institutions, ensuring the reproduction of sub-projects that implement EU environmental and social and health and safety standards, supporting participatory financial institutions to develop and monitor renewable energy and resource efficiency projects. targeted.

The project was carried out in 2016 as a consortium of MWH, GTE and Frankfurt School of Finance & Management GmbH (FsF). In the project, GTE carried out activities such as developing the carbon potential of sub-projects, providing support for carbon footprint analysis for industrial customers, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), and providing carbon-related trainings to stakeholders and participating financial institutions.

Investigation of the Conditions of Use of Iron Oxide Wastes in Sütas Biogas Facilities

GTE carried out the Turkey Material Marketplace (TMM) R&D project supported by the EBRD with Sutas A.Ş. In the project, instead of FeCl3, which is used as H2S scavenger in the biogas facilities of SUTAS A.Ş., the use of iron oxide wastes from the metalworking industry was evaluated. In this context, analyzes were carried out on the waste samples taken from Beycelik Gestamp A.S. and the feasibility of the application, which was tested at Sutas biogas facility, was studied by GTE.

According to the results obtained in the developed R&D project, it has been seen that the waste going to the landfills in the current situation has the potential to be evaluated. With the realization of the project, a total of 324 tons of iron oxide waste will be used annually. The proposed industrial symbiosis implementation will yield a net annual savings of €78,450 with a payback period of 3.4 years. Considering the rapidly growing biogas market, although there are 85 biogas plants operating in Turkey, the demand for remedial chemicals in biogas is expected to increase further soon.

The other project we realized with SUTAS:

Gaziantep Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP)

Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) for Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, under the leadership of Ekodenge; GTE was completed in 2018 together with ESCON Energy and TURKECO.

In the project, it is aimed to prepare a greenhouse gas emission inventory, to determine actions within the scope of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, to identify the risks and fragile sectors that will be brought by climate change, and to prepare actions for adaptation to climate change. As a result of the project, it is foreseen that emissions will be reduced by 40% in the province by 2030, and reduction and adaptation actions applicable to many sectors have been determined.