When we look into all of the industrial revolutions that the world has witnessed, we have been tracking the change in energy playing a major role in that. The “rise” of various energy sources had significant impact on the lives of societies. All technological breakthroughs and the current progress in digitalization, which could be composed under the umbrella of the Industry 4.0 indicate that the coming years will also be full of action in terms of energy.

I think we should take two aspects into consideration for the sake of energy efficiency. One of these is climate change. Besides, our energy demand increases considerably due to the requirements of the global economy and rapidly increasing population. Compared to today, global need for electricity alone will increase by 80 percent by 2040. Let me also note that currently 1 billion people have no access to electricity and in time this population will also be included in the energy grid.

The basis for ensuring economic growth for both today and tomorrow is generating sustainable electricity. We can achieve this through the combination of renewable energy and flexible power plants. We can also make energy storage and demand satisfaction mechanisms more dynamic so as to get the best results. Thus, we can generate “reliable and cost-effective sustainable energy”. In addition, we need to include smart platforms and solutions to the process. This will make sure that all infrastructures, be it analogue or digital, can operate in integration and in line with their purposes.

We are customizing these initiatives for Turkey and work tirelessly to offer them to the business world and the society. Globally, we will become a carbon-neutral company by 2030, but here in Turkey, we are already a step ahead. We will achieve this goal by 2023.As Siemens, we generate 10 percent of the renewable energy in Turkey via Siemens turbines. We ensured 260 million TRY savings with approximately 1,100 energy efficiency projects in the last 4 years.

Now is the time to implement the abovementioned principles. This is the way to extend our internal change to the society.

We are running on a busy agenda. In a world that changes rapidly, we encounter several different topics every day and deal with many of them personally.
That is exactly why our priorities also change rapidly. Sometimes I find myself questioning what topic to prioritize or what to comment on.
But I notice that, except for the pillars of our economy, the only aspect that remains constant even though everything else changes is again and always TRUST.
The concept of economy is a critical topic that affects the lives of everyone and TRUST is the foundation of the economy.
I think it is worth remembering an article I had written on February 12, 2014, about trust.
Renewable Energy has been one of the most popular topics in our country this week.
As Siemens Gamesa-Türkerler-Kalyon joint venture, we won the tender for the 1,000 MW Wind Power Renewable Energy Resources Areas (YEKA) tender of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
We have been deemed worthy of carrying out the most important wind project of our country.
Beyond the honor of winning such an important tender, this also reminds me of the great responsibility we assume. I am fully confident that we will fulfill this responsibility with our know-how, expertise, technology, and the experience we gained throughout our 160-year journey in Turkey.
Renewable Energy is a key area of investment for our country in all respects.
If we want to have an independent energy portfolio, we need to have an extensive range of energy sources and particularly focus on “Renewable Energy”.
I would like to thank our government for their visionary approach and for establishing such an investment environment.

The title might sound a little weird to you at first. It can take quite a long time to define something as “authentic” so yes, you’re right. Electric carriages are new after all, aren’t they?

This year we celebrate the 200th birthday of our founder, Werner von Siemens; a true genius. But that wasn’t his only admirable characteristic: He was also a successful entrepreneur, similar to the start-up founders of today. He was the founder of a company that operates today in more than 200 countries with approximately 350 thousand employees. A visionary approach certainly plays an important role in his success. Pioneers such as Werner von Siemens transformed Berlin into an electric city (‘Electro polis’) in the first years of the 20th century, as early as 1900s. The second industrial revolution (today we are talking about the fourth) was triggered by the advent of electricity and Berlin became the European center of electrical industry. To give an example from our country, Siemens was the brand that introduced the first electric tram to İstanbul in 1914.

Many people don’t know of these facts. Well then, how many of you are aware of modern transportation systems being built not only upon “internal combustion engines”, but also on “electrical vehicles”? Specifically Berlin was a city on the move with electrical power. Egger-Lohner, manufacturer of Porsche P1 (a.k.a. C.2 Phaeton), the first electric vehicle by Porsche, manufactured electric vehicles in Charlottenburg together with various entrepreneurs, while Werner von Siemens lived his dream of “electromotor” in Halensee in 1882 – that was 134 years ago.

Today, we have items such as “the future of energy” and “autonomous vehicles” on our agenda. Although it took electric carriages more than a century to become commercially available, they are now becoming more and more widespread. The main motive is essentially “environmental sensitivity”. Should we really spend another 100 years waiting for a similar motive so that another visionary innovation such as “autonomous vehicles” can become widespread? It’s worth giving a thought.

I know that the country’s agenda is filled with sad incidents. Unfortunately, we watch all that’s happening with a heavy heart. Yet I cling to the hope that our country will once again overcome these hard times and in the name of long-term thinking, I would like to point out an important issue: Why is liberalization important to investors in a country that wishes to continue consistent growth?

We are all aware of our need for energy as a growing and developing country. Those who follow me on various platforms would know that I always advocate the idea of benefiting from a wide range and a balanced portfolio of energy sources. And now, due to certain issues, I need to focus especially on one pillar of this portfolio: Natural gas industry.

First of all, let’s remember what makes natural gas combined cycle plants so important in the diversity of energy sources: These plants can rapidly replace renewable power plants when energy demand is high or renewable plants cannot generate electricity due to seasonal reasons; can perform secondary frequency controls; and most importantly, are accepted as a clean energy source. Therefore, they should have a strong place in the energy network our country needs.

However, natural gas and electricity industries have recently been discussing some problems. In almost all meetings with our customers and various stakeholders of the industry, especially the problems in natural gas power plants are mentioned. The media often covers the news that due to the troubles experienced by investors, installed natural gas power plants are disassembled and taken abroad. This is a serious loss for our country and future in a time when we try to make Turkey an attractive environment for investments.

We agree with the industry’s prominent figures that liberalization should be rapidly completed and that this bottleneck in the electricity and gas industry can be overcome with the Azeri gas to be transferred to our country via an international pipeline project like Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP). When the bottleneck is overcome, we will have more local and foreign investments in Turkey. Thus, employment will increase, and it will be easier for us to secure our growth performance. It is vital that we, as a country, keep this as an important part of our agenda.

The question is not how, but rather why we have to do whatever it takes to retain our energy to stay fit. I learned that a successful work life is challenging. At times the days count double, giving me the feeling that I have been with the company twice the time than on paper. In order to stay focused and fit, we have no choice other than to plan a balanced life style. The only alternative is to neglect, one or the other and pay eventually the price.