Malaysia to Prepare Roadmaps to Develop Hydrogen Fuel & CCS

The Malaysian government has plans to launch two roadmaps in the second half of the year, focusing on the country’s potential for developing hydrogen fuel and carbon capture and storage technology.

The news was disclosed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Energy Asia 2023 event being held in Malaysia, from June 26-28. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the event. The event is hosted by Malaysia’s state oil firm Petronas. He said, “Achieving net-zero emissions targets should not come at the expense of economic growth or vice versa,” and also added that hydrocarbons will be an important part of Asia’s energy mix, as affordability and energy security remain key concerns for the region.

“Instead, Asia must take every opportunity to further dialogue and (take) actions around how we can responsibly plan to enable every country (in) its right to development and lower carbon aspirations,” he said.

Dwelling on its transition goals, he said that Asia is home to some of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters and countries have made varying commitments to phasing out fossil fuels and accelerating energy transition, while also demanding adequate financial support from developed emitters.

Anwar said, “Natural gas would play an important role in the energy mix for Malaysia, which is among the world’s top five liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters.”

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais told the conference that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries expects global oil demand to rise to 110 million barrels per day by 2045 and account for 29% of energy supply.This is due to the rising  world economy and the population reaching 9.5 billion.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said, “A complete energy transition for the $100 trillion global economy in just a quarter of a century is a “fanciful” idea, as growth in renewable sources has not met the rise in energy consumption.The energy equivalent cost of green hydrogen is in the range of $200 to $400 per barrel versus current oil price at $75 a barrel, he said as he warned against putting all “transition eggs in the new energy basket.”

Malaysia is also committed to joining a global pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030, versus 2020 levels, Anwar added.