MOSTI TO SET UP ALLIANCE TO BE AMONG WORLD'S HYDROGEN ECONOMIES

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Bernama) -- The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI) is accelerating the establishment of the Malaysian Hydrogen Industrial Alliance (MHIA) to enable Malaysia to be among the world's leading hydrogen economies by 2050. 

MOSTI said MHIA, a consortium of local organisations, aims to shift the hydrogen economy from consumers to producers of technology in line with a "build some, buy some" concept.

"Malaysia is blessed with a topography that makes it possible to construct hydropower dams capable of supplying electricity for the production of green hydrogen.

"Hydropower capacity in Sarawak is currently at 3.5 gigawatts and is expected to rise by another 1.3 gigawatts next year. This has attracted companies from abroad to invest in green hydrogen production," MOSTI said in response to questions about Malaysia's aim to be among the world's leading hydrogen economies by 2025 via the Hydrogen Technology and Economy Roadmap (HETR) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

According to MOSTI, Malaysia produces more than 90 million tonnes of biomass from palm waste that can potentially be processed by the pyrolysis method to produce “turquoise hydrogen” with solid carbon as a by-product.

MOSTI said the carbon can then be processed into advanced materials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNT) which are gaining attention globally.

"MOSTI through NanoMalaysia Bhd is conducting research for the production of turquoise hydrogen using advanced microwave plasma technology," the ministry said.

In addition to the export market, MOSTI said Malaysia will also develop domestic demand for hydrogen in the mobility sector using fuel-cell electric vehicles and hydrogen co-combustion in gas power plants targeted to offer 30.5 Terawatt-hours (TWh) and 68.2 TWh of annual requirements between 2041-2050.

The government has launched HETR to support the energy transition agenda towards a hydrogen-based economy and to achieve the country's decarbonisation target by 2050.

HETR places technology development along the value and ecosystem involving hydrogen generation, storage, and mobility. 

-- BERNAMA