Sabah to venture into producing hydrogen gas

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Bung speaking at the press conference.

KOTA KINABALU (Nov 29): The state government is looking at the production of hydrogen gas as an alternative power and new revenue source for Sabah.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said Sabah with its high humidity of between 60 to 70 per cent can produce mass quantities of hydrogen gas thus making it a potential generation hub of the gas.
Sabah, he said, will be a comprehensive generation hub for hydrogen and renewable energy through upstream and downstream business activities, logistics management as well as sale of generated energy.

He told a press conference that the government has through its wholly owned company, Smart Sabah Corporation Sdn Bhd, has identified a few main projects, including the development of a large scale solar for the generation system of hydrogen gas, the development of a 3,500 MW green independent power plant (IPP) and the development of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) among others.

The project, he said, is expected to bring in direct investment of not less than RM25 billion to the state and indirectly creates 20,000 job opportunities in various sectors for the rakyat in Sabah.

Among areas identified for the development of the projects includes a 50,000-hectare site in Kalabakan, Pulau Layang Layang, Kudat and Pulau Kelumpang in Tawau.

The Works Minister disclosed that to kick start the proposal, Smart Sabah Corporation Sdn Bhd had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Malaysia Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC), an agency under the Environment and Water Ministry on Nov 9 with a purpose to finalise a feasibility study on the project which is expected to commence in 2022.

“After the feasibility studies by MTGC to find the suitable locations are completed, we will then ask the state government to gazette the area for the production of hydrogen gas,” he said.

According to Bung Moktar, investors from Korea and Japan have been in touch and expressed their interest to work with Smart Sabah on the project.

To a question why Sabah has chosen to venture into producing hydrogen gas as an alternative energy source, Bung Moktar said that it is a new technology and can bring a new source of income to Sabah on a bigger scale.

“It is green technology so will not pollute the environment but instead protect it. We also have ready buyers for hydrogen gas but priority is for the state’s use,” he said, adding that investors from Korea, Japan and Dubai have indicated their interest to invest in the project.