ABU DHABI: Sarawak will establish a hydrogen development roadmap to secure a place in the global clean energy market.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said one of the primary focuses of the roadmap will be on the supply of hydrogen.
“The hydrogen production must be affordable so that consumers can widely adopt this green energy.
“The second aspect is demand. This means fuel cell technology must advance, which will generate demand, particularly in public transportation where hydrogen becomes the fuel source,” he said.
He said this during an exclusive interview with UKAS and TVS after participating as a guest panellist in a panel discussion at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) 2024 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) on Wednesday (Nov 6).
He also said Sarawak’s involvement in the hydrogen industry will lead to other downstream activities that will boost the state’s economy.
Earlier, during a panel discussion on ‘Asia’s Role in Shaping the Hydrogen Market’, Abang Johari emphasised the need to leverage the latest technology to reduce hydrogen production costs, making it an affordable alternative fuel.
“The green energy has been adopted as an alternative fuel to address the increasingly urgent issue of global climate change.
“However, the high production costs and the large amount of energy are required to convert raw materials into hydrogen remain significant challenges in transitioning to green energy,” he added.
In this regard, he said, Sarawak is fully capitalising on its renewable energy resources to produce hydrogen.
“We have the advantage in renewable energy. We have generated 5 gigawatts of renewable energy and aim to increase this to 10 gigawatts by 2030.
“This means we need energy to produce hydrogen, and the price must be within the market range. This will enable hydrogen to become an alternative fuel,” he noted.
In the Asean context, Abang Johari said China is aggressively conducting research to reduce hydrogen production costs.
Furthermore, he said, Sarawak has established strategic partnerships with Japan and South Korea for hydrogen production, with plans to export to these two countries in the future.
