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By Cornelius Matthes, CEO, Dii Desert Energy The 16th Dii Desert Energy Leadership Summit has been a special one in several ways. For the first time, our annual event took place on two continents. It even took place partly on a boat and partly in a major battery factory. Türkiye has been on Dii’s radar since we started almost 17 years ago. The Turkish grid has been synchronized to the ENTSO-E block since 2010 and the country is already a leader in energy transformation. Recent geopolitical developments further increase Türkiye’s strategic role, e.g. for Europe’s energy security and supply chain. It is thanks to Tolunay Yildiz, our Turkish partner Yeo’s founder and CEO, that Dii’s annual event could finally come to Istanbul. And our partners and guests experienced his generous hospitality and got a genuine taste of Türkiye’s rich culture and heritage, with some really special surprises.Also, experiencing Türkiye’s first GW battery factory, the REAP factory, first hand and even hosting part of the conference inside, was a special experience many of us will not forget. I hope you enjoy reading our new reports on Türkiye on the way to COP 31, our update on MENA BESS and special on ‘Storing Security in Europe’.

In recent years, the energy debate has been framed almost entirely around climate targets and energy transformation. At the 16th Dii Desert Energy Leadership Summit in Istanbul (29 September – 1 October 2026), held under the theme “Clean Energy: Bridging Continents, Connecting Markets”, the vocabulary had clearly shifted.

The energy transition implies dramatic changes in how energy is produced, emissions are reduced, power is converted into molecules, storage is deployed, transport and distribution are enabled, and demand is made more flexible. The rapid growth of direct-current (DC) generation, storage and demand is therefore challenging the architecture of today’s power grids.

Between June and August, I spent seven weeks in Europe. I had two events in London in June and July, worked from home in the Netherlands and vacationed in the Baltics. It was a very hot summer in Western Europe, the hottest summer on record, but probably the coldest of the rest of my life.

The Hydrogen Council have launched, for the first time, their flagship Global Hydrogen Compass through a dedicated virtual event, bringing together Hydrogen Council Co-Chairs and member CEOs from across the world to discuss the findings and what they mean for the next phase of hydrogen deployment.

The edition covers the H4D Partners Meeting and Stakeholders Forum, as well as the Finance Forum held alongside the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam and The Hague.

The Dii Executive London Get Together, held in partnership with EBRD and hosted by Addleshaw Goddard, brought together over 80 energy leaders and investors to discuss financing the energy transition. Our moderators from the ‘Dii Renewable Fuels Task Force: From PtL to Market’ and ‘Scaling Up Finance and Mobilization’ Executive Panel Discussions, have shared their key takeaways – read them below.

The war in the Middle East had some dramatic short term effects, e.g. with another energy crisis in different parts of the world or severe supply chain disruptions.

The IPO of SpaceX in June 2026 was an extraordinary success, attracting unparalleled interest from investors and the broader public alike.

We are now 3 months into the Iran conflict, and the global economy is paying a heavy price.