Middle East Technical University (METU) Institute of Marine Sciences and METU İKLİM Center launched a project on marine platforms focusing on energy and raw material production.
Middle East Technical University (METU) Institute of Marine Sciences and METU İKLİM Center (Climate Change and Sustainable Development Application and Research Center) are working on technology platforms for the production of green energy and raw materials from the seas. Barış Salihoğlu, Director of METU Institute of Marine Sciences, stated that they aim to minimize human impact on the ecosystem.
Climate-focused project from METU
METU aims to produce green energy, green hydrogen and lithium through platforms and to obtain food through algae cultivation. Salihoğlu said that the seas, which host many sectors, provide ecosystem services, and that in addition to food, functions such as providing oxygen and storing carbon dioxide are at the top of these services.
Stating that high technology should be utilized in the sustainable use of the seas, Salihoğlu said that issues such as obtaining renewable energy from the sea, offshore wind and solar power plants, wave energy and obtaining green hydrogen from seawater are on the agenda of many countries. According to Salihoğlu, the capacity of offshore wind energy worldwide is 30 gigawatts. This is expected to double by 2030 and increase to over 500 gigawatts by 2050.
Salihoğlu says that with the hybrid energy systems they are working on, they are trying to narrow the areas of use in the seas. On the same platform, wind, solar, wave energy and hydrogen can be obtained from the sea, while food, medicine and hygienic raw materials can be produced from algae.
According to Salihoğlu, obtaining lithium from seawater is increasingly on the agenda. With the green energy generated by such platforms, lithium and green hydrogen production is thought to reduce carbon emissions.
It is stated that 100 kilowatts of energy will be produced with the offshore platforms currently in the testing phase. This energy is enough to turn a small platform, produce hydrogen and lithium, and charge an unmanned boat. In the following stages, it is aimed to reach levels that will feed small cities with larger platforms. It is also possible to obtain protein by growing algae on the platforms. In this way, it can also help to sequester carbon in the atmosphere.
Stating that they are working on high-tech systems that transmit the sun for algae under the double-sided solar panels used in the sea, Salihoğlu shared the information that these panels heat up less in the sea and work more efficiently.
