Sarawak aspires to become major hydrogen exporter - Abang Johari

He said the state government had been seriously embarking on the research and development (RD) of hydrogen after studying its viability to be produced in a massive scale and its rising global demand as an energy source as touted by the European Union (EU).

“The EU Hydrogen study cited that by 2030-2050, the (hydrogen) market will be about US$11 trillion (US$1=RM4.08). During that period, Australia will be the main country that will export hydrogen and I think we (Sarawak) can be part of that league to produce hydrogen,” he said.

Fielding a question during a webinar today on Sarawak 2021 Budget: Towards a High Income Society in 2030, he said the state had been monitoring the development of hydrogen energy over the last three years, after taking the cue from the International Energy Commission on the need to control carbon emission while providing replacement to fossil fuel.

“It seems that the other countries are monitoring us. Lately, we have received expressions of interest by Japanese companies, Sumitomo and Eneos, a subsidiary of Nippon Oil, to set up a hydrogen plant in Bintulu,” he said.

Abang Johari who is also the State Finance and Economic Planning Minister said the national oil corporation, Petronas, had also embarked on a collaboration with Sarawak Energy Bhd to carry out the RD activities for hydrogen production.

He said the state had initiated a prototype project after studying the methods that have been employed in other countries that are already producing hydrogen as fuel, such as in Germany, Italy, France, South Korea, and Scotland.

“It (the prototype project) seems to be quite successful, (although) the cost is still expensive. I noticed it is viable and we have to keep on doing research and development on this particular subject of hydrogen,” he added.