Malaysian green hydrogen projects make progress

Two green hydrogen projects in Malaysia's Sarawak state have moved past the stage of feasibility studies and are due to start operations by 2027, according to Sarawak's premier Abang Johari.

Feasibility studies have been completed for H2ornbill and H2biscus, the two projects in the Bintulu area. The projects are expected to proceed to the front end-engineering design (FEED) stage within the next few months, Johari said at the at the International Energy Week (IEW) conference in Kuching.

Final investment decisions for H2biscus are expected in the first quarter of 2024 and for H2ornbill in the second quarter of 2025, putting the projects on track for start of commercial operations in 2027, Johari said.

Sarawak Economic Development (SEDC) has developed both projects in collaboration with a consortium of multinational companies.

South Korea's Samsung Engineering is the lead developer for H2biscus, with Lotte Chemicals and Posco also involved, besides SEDC. The partners expect the project to produce some 200,000 t/yr of green hydrogen from hydroelectric power. Of this, some 7,000 t/yr will be used domestically while the remainder shipped to South Korea as ammonia.

The H2ornbill project involves Japanese firms Eneos and Sumitomo, besides SEDC. The developers also target green hydrogen production from hydroelectric power and aim to ship the output to Japan using methylcyclohexane (MCH) as a carrier.

Malaysia is looking to develop a "hydrogen economy and technology roadmap", prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said earlier this month. The country's green hydrogen industry could be worth $3.1bn by 2030, around 2pc of the forecast $189bn global market, Ibrahim said.

By Akansha Victor