This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 25, 2023 - January 7, 2024

When the petrol industry boomed several decades ago, there was no infrastructure for it readily available. Only when people saw the need for it did the developments begin to take place. As countries aim to reduce carbon emissions, the same can be said about renewable energy (RE) infrastructure, such as for hydrogen.

The National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) highlighted that Malaysia would shift the country’s energy sources from being fossil fuel-based to becoming greener and lower carbon. One of these sources is hydrogen for sectors such as transport and power generation. The Hydrogen Economy & Technology Roadmap outlines the pathway for this development.

For instance, the road map underlines the promotion of hydrogen for use in energy storage as fuel in combined cycle gas turbines, and for hydrogen to be the “cornerstone of a new energy economy in Malaysia”, so the country has a strong presence in the global hydrogen supply chain.

The private sector and Sarawak are also taking note of the potential of hydrogen.

Gentari Sdn Bhd, a relatively new RE player owned by national oil and gas company, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), has pinpointed hydrogen as one of its three main pillars to provide customers with clean energy solutions. The company aims to produce 1.2 million tonnes of clean hydrogen annually.

On the other hand, Sarawak is a key player in hydrogen production, with projects such as the H2ornbill and H2biscus, which will generate green hydrogen from hydroelectric power. The state also has the Sarawak Hydrogen Economy Roadmap, which focuses on using hydrogen to transform Sarawak into a developed state by 2030.

The annual production of low-emission hydrogen could reach 38 million tonnes in 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. Under the NETR, Malaysia is aiming to produce up to 2.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2050. These would be green hydrogen generated from RE sources such as hydroelectric power and solar.

While hydrogen promises to be an effective solution to reduce emissions, there is a need for necessary frameworks, policies and regulations for hydrogen to be produced at scale, says Michele Azalbert, chief hydrogen officer at Gentari.

She likes Malaysia’s location in relation to markets with high demand, such as South Korea, Japan and Singapore. This makes Malaysia a good export hub for hydrogen, owing to the potential for renewables in the country as well as the availability of infrastructure.

Gentari has ventured into the Singapore market by signing a joint feasibility study agreement with City Energy to construct a pipeline for the import of hydrogen from Malaysia to Singapore.

“At the end of the day, these kinds of solutions are here not only for exports, but also for the domestic market. We will [then] continue to expand to further scale up the hubs to provide solutions for the domestic market and for the export market at the same time,” says Azalbert.

To build on the country’s potential, she suggests a combination of different solutions such as tax incentives, access to the grid and capital subsidies on investments to kick-start projects at the right scale.

Azalbert says the focus will be on ammonia in the early years, as it is easier to store and transport, and can be directly consumed by energy producers and the transport sector. She sees both sectors as markets that will drive the hydrogen economy.

Ammonia is used as a carrier for hydrogen, thanks to its chemical properties. Green ammonia is typically produced by combining nitrogen separated from the air with green hydrogen.

Gentari struck a partnership with Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC to produce green ammonia in India earlier this year. It also partnered with IHI Corp last year to use solar energy to produce green ammonia in Johor.

“In the short term, ammonia plays a key role because it can directly be used in coal plants. You mix it in the existing coal plants, and you will reduce the plant’s carbon emissions … By mixing the two kinds of fuels, you produce energy, but at the same time, you reduce emissions, because in the ammonia, you don’t have any carbon dioxide,” says Azalbert.

“In the transport segment, hydrogen or ammonia can be used as fuel in the engine. There are two types of solutions: fuel cells and engines. We have a wide range of transport [use cases] in the aviation and maritime sectors.”

An example for the maritime sector is the use of methanol, which can use green hydrogen as a feedstock, or ammonia as a green fuel. For the aviation sector, hydrogen is a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel. Some aircraft can be powered by liquid hydrogen.

Azalbert believes the purpose is to ultimately move towards green hydrogen. Today, green hydrogen represents only 4% of the total production globally, states the NETR. Most of the hydrogen produced currently is grey, which is produced from methane steam reforming.

“When you produce 1kg of [grey] hydrogen, you produce 10kg of carbon dioxide. The [goal] is to change the process and reduce the carbon emissions,” she says.

“Cleaner” versions are blue hydrogen, where the carbon dioxide generated is stored, and green hydrogen, which is produced from the electrolysis of water by using RE sources.

“The goal is to replace the grey hydrogen with cleaner hydrogen. It could be blue or green,” Azalbert says.

To promote a speedier transition into green hydrogen, there needs to be access to electrons that are produced by RE sources, whether they are wind, solar or hydro, she says.

For instance, Sarawak has good access to hydropower, which is available at all times, observes Azalbert. In this stead, Gentari is collaborating with SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd to produce green hydrogen by using the state’s resources. Both parties will also collaborate on the development of low-carbon hydrogen for the green mobility supply chain and support Sarawak’s Kuching Urban Transportation System.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.