Spotlight on Belgian energy companies during mission to Turkey

From May 10 to 14, a Belgian economic mission led by Queen Mathilde traveled to Turkey. The mission brought together 428 participants: 194 companies, 17 federations and chambers of commerce, 8 universities, and various Belgian government agencies. One of the absolute highlights was the roundtable discussion on energy. During the discussion, Turkish Minister Alparslan Bayraktar provided a clear overview of the current landscape and the country’s ambitions for the coming decades. This took place in the presence of Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, and Development Cooperation Maxime Prévot, as well as a number of leading Belgian energy companies, including Cockerill, DEME, Elia, Fluxys, Jan de Nul, and Tractebel.

Turkey is firmly committed to a transition toward more renewable and strategically autonomous energy sources, with electrification as the central driver. By 2050, the country plans to build approximately 20 GW of additional nuclear capacity. Hydropower already plays a significant role today, accounting for about 16% of electricity production, and will be further supported by the development of pumped-storage facilities. In addition, Turkey currently has about 41 GW of installed capacity from wind and solar energy, supplemented by approximately 7 GW of geothermal power.

Offshore wind was explicitly highlighted as a strategic priority. With the words "we count on you”, Minister Bayraktar addressed the Belgian companies in attendance directly. The goal is to achieve approximately 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035. The first tender for this will be launched as early as next year. Although significant technical challenges remain and a large-scale upgrade of the power grid is still necessary, both the stated ambitions and the concrete policy actions make it clear that the energy transition is an absolute priority for the Turkish government.