Malaysia’s state energy company Petronas and Japanese oil giant Eneos are exploring opportunities to develop a clean hydrogen supply chain between the two nations.
On Friday, Petronas announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Eneos to jointly develop a competitive, clean hydrogen supply chain between Malaysia and Japan, and to explore other hydrogen opportunities.
The MoU will see both parties embark on a technical-commercial joint-study of a hydrogen supply chain, which includes hydrogen production and its transportation in methylcyclohexane (MCH) form, where hydrogen is converted from its original gaseous state into a liquid form to enable large volume deliveries, said Petronas.
Petronas and Eneos will also explore low carbon hydrogen production from Petronas’ petrochemical facilities and in the future, green hydrogen produced by renewable energy.
“We are proud to expand our three-decade long energy partnership with ENEOS to include hydrogen, on top of what we have established in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) space,” said Petronas Gas + New Energy chief executive Adnan Zainal Abidin.
“The development of liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology such as MCH is fast gaining traction due to its chemically stable nature that allows for long-term storage and long-distance transport. Moreover, the use of LOHC leverages on existing conventional oil and petrochemicals infrastructure which heavily reduces the need to develop new assets, thus making it a viable option for established energy players to implement,” said Petronas.
For this project with Petronas, Eneos has applied for funding from the Japanese Government’s Green Innovation Fund which sponsors decarbonisation projects and initiatives. While in Malaysia, the development of a hydrogen-based economy is set to complement future growth as the country prepares to transition towards a low carbon economy, said Petronas.
Petronas said it already produces low carbon hydrogen from its facilities and will soon explore the commercial production of green hydrogen.