Thai state-owned oil and gas company PTT Group will invest US$7 billion in green hydrogen alongside Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power.
Continuing to work towards its mission of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, Thai state-owned oil and gas company PTT Group will be investing US$7 billion alongside the leading renewable energy company in Saudi Arabia, ACWA Power, in green hydrogen, powering the future of electric vehicles (EVs) in ASEAN.
Unlike “brown” and other generations of hydrogen which use fossil fuel in the production process, green hydrogen is obtained using renewable energy sources only, thus generating zero emissions. Renewable green hydrogen is extracted through the electrolysis of water, and can be stored for usage such as powering automobiles or industrial machinery.
Countries like Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Australia have already invested billions in scaling green hydrogen to a gigawatt scale, and Thailand is the next to follow this trend.
“This is the first step to push Thailand to be an international exporter of the green power. Our feasibility [study] has now started, and we expect to have a final decision by the end of this year,” said Auttapol Rerkpiboon, the CEO of PTT Group.
Despite being an energy conglomerate, PTT is persevering in its mission which aligns with the Thai government’s goals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero emissions by 2065. Auttapol added that he aims to build a plant in Thailand with a production capacity of 225,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year.
Investing in green hydrogen as a renewable fuel source still faces many challenges, primarily the development of facilities suited for mass production, and whether costs can be brought down to compete with fossil fuels.
Green hydrogen is currently priced from US$2.70 to $6 per kilogram, with several governments across the globe working to support research and development projects. This cost will need to fall to a range of US$2.0 to $2.5 per kilogram to efficiently build a hydrogen economy.
PTT is also already developing supply ecosystems to boost demand, such as its subsidiary PTT Oil and Retail partnering with Bangkok Industrial Gas, Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing, and Toyota Motors to set up hydrogen charging stations in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor.
“The project is aimed at generating recognition of green hydrogen as a future energy source to create demand, and lead to economies of scale pushing Thailand toward eventually becoming the green energy supplier of the ASEAN region,” concluded Auttapol.
Featured banner image credit: @PTTNews
Related Articles
SEA Advances Efforts to Decarbonise Public Transportation Networks
Toyota to Release New Electric Vehicles in Thailand
Fossil Fuel Giants in Thailand Introduce EV Rental Platforms
