(From left) Moderator Teymoor Nabili from CNBC Catalyst, Tenaga Nasional Renewables managing director Mohd Yusrizal Mohd Yusof, Sharbini, Chuah, and Mariyappan in a photo-call after the ‘Energy Leaders Forum’ ended. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: The utilisation of hydrogen might soon be expanded into homes in Singapore as an alternative form of energy, said Singapore Power Group SP Services chief executive officer Chuah Kee Heng.
“Just like Sarawak is investing in six hydrogen refuelling stations across Sarawak, we are also studying hydrogen because one of the things we are looking at is how we can store hydrogen at home,” said Chuah at the ‘Energy Leaders Forum’ in conjunction with the Sustainability and Renewable Energy Forum here on Wednesday.
He said the company is still studying the idea to utilise hydrogen in a safe manner to be applicable in a dense urban setting like Singapore.
Petroliam National Berhad (Petronas) Group New Energy head Dr Jay Mariyappan concurred that further research and developments can be carried out to explore the usage of hydrogen for wider applications.
“It (hydrogen) is definitely something the company is looking at in the future. It’s something that is already produced within part of our businesses so we are really looking at what would be its future applications, its wider applications,” said Mariyappan at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here.
Sarawak Energy group chief executive officer Datu Sharbini Suhaili, meanwhile, said the utility firm is actively overseeing research and developments on hydrogen technology, from the generation of the energy to its applications.
“We know that Germany is going ahead in putting 100 hydrogen stations around their country, so they decided to put the infrastructure in place first and let the vehicles come in later. It’s a chicken and egg situation,” he said.
However, Sharbini believes plenty of opportunities lie in the future, where different forms of energy will co-exist to complement one another, meeting the changing needs of the market.
“I always say the future is a combination of multiple things and you cannot have just one thing. While you have electric and hydrogen car in the future, petrol-fuelled cars might still exist because there are many people who like the feel and sound of a petrol car, as those powered by hydrogen and electric are very silent actually,” said Sharbini.