KUCHING, 19 Dec: State-owned SEDC Energy recently entered a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Japanese petroleum company ENEOS and trading conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation for the collaborative establishment of a clean hydrogen supply chain.
The agreement – signed on October 25 – is part of the H2ornbill project as part of the Sarawak H2 Hub, capable of generating around 90,000 tons of clean hydrogen and inclusive of the designated 2,000 tons for local consumption in Sarawak.
“Sarawak’s hydropower energy is the reason behind for the two Japanese partners to play their part in the Sarawak Hydrogen Hub in Bintulu.
“The hydro-powered grid system in the state which eventually will produce cleaner hydrogen making it attractive for investors,” the statement read.
The goal for this project is to begin production of clean hydrogen by 2030 and all parties involved will be entering the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) phase soon.
“Bintulu is chosen as the hub’s location due to the existing petrochemical industrial complex, which has the advantage of being able to utilise existing facilities for the Methylcyclohexane (MCH) production that will be used to transport hydrogen to Japan,” it added.
Currently, the three parties are working on the finer details of Project H2ornbill.
During the recent visit to Tokyo, for the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Forum, the three parties together with Sarawak Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni paid a courtesy call to Japan Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito to share the progress between the parties.
Within the JDA, SEDC Energy’s role will encompass in the spearheading of the technical aspects of hydrogen production, focusing on integrating and optimising the energy procurement process for the project. – TVS
