The YTÜ Energy Efficiency Center, one of the most important centers within our Central Research Laboratory, was officially opened on March 8, 2022.
With the vision of creating a new generation of YTÜ that is a leader not only in education but also in R&D, the center—which was established to train the energy efficiency experts that Turkey needs and was brought into service in a short time after its inception—was officially opened by was officiated by Fatih DÖNMEZ, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, who participated via video conference in the 18th RLC Days event organized by the YTÜ IEEE Student Branch.
In his remarks regarding the opening of the Energy Efficiency Center, Minister DÖNMEZ stated the following:
“The Energy Efficiency Center was established to raise awareness among students, engineers, and technical staff. This center will provide opportunities for pre-field training, theory, practice, and experimentation. Our Ministry is carefully reviewing and processing applications to increase the number of such centers. God willing, the number of these centers will continue to grow. I sincerely believe this.”
“We have significant expertise in clean energy technologies”
Speaking at the center’s opening ceremony, Yıldız Technical University Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer YILMAZ said, “Our university is a pioneer in certain fields. One of these is clean energy. We have considerable expertise in clean energy technologies. Not only are our faculty members conducting research in this field, but our students, student clubs, and our Technology Park are also producing innovations in this area. Today, we have established the Yıldız Technical University Energy Efficiency Center—a first in the region—as a center approved by the Ministry. Here, we will raise awareness, provide training, and certify companies wishing to work in this field. In other words, we are becoming an authoritative, guiding center. Through this center, we are making our academic expertise available to the industry,” he said.
“May it be a blessing for our country”
YILMAZ, noting that the center is based on energy efficiency, said, “The global energy crisis has made energy efficiency and related efforts in the energy sector highly effective. In fact, policies will also be developed here. It has evolved into a system where energy-related policies are discussed, technologies are developed, and startups—linked to TEKNOPARK—are established and transformed into larger-scale companies. In fact, we will fund and support these initiatives through the fund we have established, and we will strive to launch companies on a global scale. This should be viewed as both a part of and the focal point of such an ecosystem. May this be a blessing for our country,” he said.
YTÜ Energy Efficiency Center
In today’s world, where the importance of sustainable development is increasingly recognized and efforts toward energy efficiency are steadily growing, the Center—established to promote energy efficiency, prevent wasteful and uninformed energy use, and reduce energy intensity both by sector and at the macro level—will, subject to the Ministry’s approval, enable engineers and other technical staff to obtain an Energy Manager Certification. Furthermore, by providing theoretical and practical training at the Center for personnel needed to operate the most critical processes and machinery in industrial facilities, it is expected to enhance the energy efficiency of Turkish industry, train personnel specialized in reducing energy consumption and harmful environmental impacts, and contribute to university-industry collaboration.
