KUCHING: The hydrogen economy is poised to provide significant returns that will fund the cost of implementing basic infrastructure in areas throughout Sarawak.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said while the overhead for producing hydrogen is still high, its efficiency will improve over time as technology progresses.
“Previously, the energy needed to produce 1kg of hydrogen was 60kWh (using the electrolyser), now with a new membrane, it is now lowered to 30kWh.
“I believe the efficiency will improve and the costs will be lowered. With more membranes, it can reduce to 28kWh and over time it can reduce to 15 and 10kWh within 15 years. When this happens, hydrogen will be affordable.
“Hydrogen will be the source of revenue and that revenue will go back to fund our infrastructure development,” he said when speaking to Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan, co-hosts of the Keluar Sekejap podcast which aired on Monday (July 22).
The Premier said hydrogen will be a source of alternative energy to diesel and with it being cheap to produce, it does not need to be subsidised.
“We have the resources but you also need renewable energy to split H2O (water) to oxygen and hydrogen. We have the renewable energy to do it, meaning the hydrogen we produce is green energy.
“The world wants this (green energy) and from where I stand, we have the advantage. Malaysia has the advantage through Sarawak,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abang Johari said Sarawak is actively implementing infrastructure projects in Sarawak such as the construction of a new highway, rural electricity and water supply.
“Our coastal road project is RM20 billion, we built it using state funds. The coastal road project includes bridges – the Batang Lupar project costs RM1 billion, then we have Batang Lassa, Batang Paloh and Batang Saribas, we have a lot of rivers.
“For water supply, I had to spend RM4.2 billion and for rural electricity, RM2.4 billion, all of these are using state funds. This is why we need to seek revenues to provide infrastructure to the people and uplift the rural areas.
“In terms of human capital, in 2026, I plan to provide free tertiary education to Sarawakian students at Sarawak universities, this will improve the knowledge base and they will be the human capital in the new industry,” he said.
