KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): Citaglobal Bhd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Petronas Global Technical Solutions Sdn Bhd (PGTS) for a strategic collaboration in a wide range of renewable energy (RE) technologies and applications.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday (June 27), during the Energy Asia conference, by Citaglobal executive chairman and president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria and PGTS chief executive officer Annaliz Abu Bakar.

The activities of PGTS, which is wholly owned by state-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), include the provision of technology products, technical services, project management and engineering solution services.  

The areas of collaboration between Citaglobal and Petronas will include RE technologies and applications, comprising battery energy storage system (BESS), biogas engine, biomass engineering, waste to energy (WTE), heat to energy (HTE) and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), among others.

Via the MOU, both parties intend to collaborate in four chosen areas.

The first area is the development and implementation of BESS applications and projects, by which the technology and solutions shall be provided by Citaglobal Genetec BESS Sdn Bhd (CG BESS). CG BESS — a 50:50 joint venture company between Citaglobal and Genetec Technology Bhd — has developed the first Malaysian battery energy storage system, MYBESS.

“This shall cover the installation of BESS to accelerate the technology advancement and green electron generation with deployment of 246kWh of MYBESS for Petronas’ Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy (CEFORE). There will also be a joint feasibility study for scaling up BESS technology solutions in all Petronas existing and future facilities,” said Citaglobal.

Secondly, Citaglobal said the MOU entails collaboration in the area of biogas, including a joint feasibility study using gas engine for flare gas recovery and other gases such as hydrogen.

"On the area of WTE and HTE, there will be a joint feasibility study for the application of WTE and HTE in Petronas plants.

"Lastly, there will be a joint feasibility study on CCU initiatives in Petronas plants,” said Citaglobal.

For this MOU, Citaglobal will work with Petronas to introduce technology advancements in material-based formulations such as graphene, as well as in the area of energy management systems.

In the event the parties mutually agree to implement any of the collaborative activities, this shall be undertaken and further encapsulated under a separate definitive agreement.

This MOU is dated June 27, 2023 and shall subsist for a period of two years thereafter.

“From Citaglobal’s side, we believe that we are in a good position to lead in the BESS space, as we already have the experience and technical know-how. Renewable energy and BESS go hand in hand. We feel that BESS needs to be an obvious part of the green energy mix in order for renewables to be a reality. Together with Petronas, we are more confident of transitioning towards a greener Malaysia, where the pace of adoption for renewables and BESS become more efficient,” said Norza.