@ green | September-October , 2020

SEDA Malaysia chairman believes green hydrogen presents an excellent opportunity

By BRIGITTE ROZARIO

bane of 2020 , seems to be a boon to green energy . When countries worldwide sought to flatten the curve and curb the spread of the coronavirus , there was renewed interest in the environment and green energy .

As at the end of 2019 , renewable energy contributed 33 per cent of the global installed electricity capacity mix ( IRENA ) and 27.3 per cent of the worldwide electricity production ( REN21 ).

While renewables have made inroads within the power industry , sectors such as aviation , shipping , energyintensive industries and heavy transportation have been resistant .

There are several reasons for the slow adoption rate , but the main hindrance is cost . The development of infrastructure , impeded by regulations , was slow and proved to be a hurdle to widespread utilisation .

Almost entirely supplied by natural gas and coal , hydrogen is still not as efficient as traditional energy .

There are significant energy losses during production , transport and conversion .

Nonetheless , Lukanisman Awang Sauni , SEDA Malaysia Chairman , believes green hydrogen presents an excellent opportunity for Malaysia to become a significant supplier within the region .

The hydrogen agenda has already been embraced in Europe . In the Asia Pacific region , Australia seems to be in the lead with its national hydrogen strategy announced late last year .

The strategy includes both green and blue hydrogen . Australia aims to become a global leader in clean hydrogen production by 2030 .

Also in contention is South Korea , which released its Hydrogen Economy Roadmap 2040 in January 2019 . Within a year , it passed the Hydrogen Economy Promotion and Hydrogen Safety Management Law .

Malaysia will need to move fast if it is to gain a foothold in the fast-growing green hydrogen economy .

While SEDA had been tasked by the government to develop the Renewable Energy Transition Roadmap ( RETR ) 2035 , Lukanisman asserted all sectors would have to work together to advance our adoption rate .

“ Malaysia has the technical knowledge and skills in the LNG industry , and we have invested in LNG infrastructure which could lower the cost to migrate to green hydrogen ,” said Lukanisman .

“ We are also positioned strategically as we are close to future hydrogen markets like Japan , South Korea , Taiwan and Singapore .”

He believed hydrogen would play a significant role in the world ’ s energy mix , and Malaysia should take advantage of its natural resources to adopt hydrogen fuel as a strategic asset .

In a special interview with @ green , Lukanisman shares his thoughts about how SEDA plans to drive the green hydrogen economy . — @ green

Why is there a surge of interest in green hydrogen of late ? Specifically , what are the relevance and roles of green hydrogen in the energy transition ? Hydrogen as a fuel is not new . However , post the coronavirus pandemic , hydrogen appears to be in vogue again , at least within the energy transition space .

Admittedly the need to flatten the pandemic curve has led to a wake-up call for many countries to flatten the climate curve . Hence , the urgency to accelerate energy transition while there is still time .

As at the end of 2019 , renewable energy contributed 33 per cent of the global installed electricity capacity mix ( IRENA ) and 27.3 per cent of the worldwide electricity production ( REN21 ).

While renewables have gained many inroads within the power sector , there are still some hard to abate sectors such as aviation , shipping , energy-intensive industries and heavy transportation which green electrons cannot easily reach .

Within the electricity sector , globally , it is acknowledged that solar PV and wind are renewable resources with the highest potential to scale up . REN21 reported that in 2019 alone , PV recorded the highest growth at 31 per cent compared with all renewable resources .

In Malaysia , due to its location along the sunbelt , solar represented the highest technical potential . However , having a high penetration of PV will require an energy balancing market to regulate the intermittency nature of solar energy .

In this regard , green hydrogen has been touted as a possible solution to provide a balancing mechanism to solar energy . The green hydrogen could be the bridging solution . But outside of the electricity sector , green hydrogen is a future fuel for the transportation sector and industries that are hard to abate .

What are the possible sectors of green hydrogen that Malaysia can develop ? Malaysia has always been an oil and gas producing nation . Thus , the green hydrogen represents an opportunity for Malaysia to become a major supplier within this region .

My home State , Sarawak has abundant renewable resources , mainly in the form of hydroelectricity and solar PV . I want to echo the what Tan Sri Dr Abdul Aziz Husain , Chairman of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation , said in his speech in a green hydrogen webinar organised by SEDA .

According to him , Malaysia has the technical knowledge and skills in the LNG industry and we have invested in LNG infrastructure , which could represent a lower cost of migrating to green hydrogen industry . Malaysia is also positioned strategically as we are close to future hydrogen markets like Japan , South Korea , Taiwan and Singapore .

Hydrogen will become a significant part of the world ’ s energy mix , and Malaysia should take advantage of its natural resources to adopt hydrogen fuel as a strategic asset and become an exporter of this future commodity .

To achieve this , the industry , government and financial sectors need to come together and work hand-in-hand to start planning Malaysia ’ s national green hydrogen roadmap .

What are the gaps and challenges that need to be addressed for these green hydrogen sectors to grow ? 1 . Costly at the moment

• Cost of electrolysers are still currently relatively high but expected to fall in the next few decades

• Cost of transportation and logistics is now relatively high for long distances

• Cost of renewable electricity is falling rapidly 2 . Development of infrastructure is slow and holding back widespread adoption 3 . Hydrogen is almost entirely supplied by natural gas and coal today 4 . Regulations currently limit the development 5 . Significant energy losses occur in hydrogen production , transport and conversion 6 . Hydrogen is not used widely

• Today , hydrogen is used in oil refining and ammonia

It must be adopted in sectors where currently it is almost wholly absent .

When do you foresee the commercial viability of green hydrogen in this APAC region ? Although the hydrogen agenda appears to gain much ground in Europe , within the Asia Pacific ( APAC ) region , another cluster of the hydrogen economy is on the rise .

Australia released its national hydrogen strategy late last year . Their approach aims at making Australia a global leader in clean hydrogen production by 2030 .

They have already invested AUD $ 146 million in hydrogen from 2015 to 2019 . The Australian government has committed AUD $ 370m to support hydrogen technology .

The strategy includes both green and blue hydrogen . Australia has conducted pilot projects with technology providers from Japan to transport the hydrogen produced in Australia to Japan .