In this aspect, Malaysia is not far behind as
several power plants in operation are employing
gasification processes which produce hydrogen
as a gaseous product. The existence of these
mature technologies would support the supply
of hydrogen in the market whilst the application
of fuel-cells in transportation such as in fuel-cell
cars, buses, ships and even in stationary power
plants, would spearhead the demand for hydrogen.
It will not be long before hydrogen dominates the
transportation sectors as companies are now
investing heavily in fuel-cell cars. Most Japanese
automobile companies already have their
respective fuel cell car projects. Toyota recently
launched its Mirai which is very competitive in
terms of efficiency, fuel consumption and low
emission rates. To facilitate the realisation of this
vision, the Japanese Government has introduced
a subsidy programme of up to 3 million yen for
every purchase of a fuel-cell vehicle. For Malaysia
to achieve its vision of a sustainable and pollution
free society, this technology must be promoted
extensively and incentives should be given to the
players involved.
The delivery of hydrogen to the mass market
is one of the factors that needs to be looked
into. Even though it requires extensive capital
investment, infrastructure and distribution
systems must be put in place. Current hydrogen
delivery methods in Malaysia include tube trailers
transporting the gas in the form of compressed
and liquid hydrogen. In the future, pipelines
carrying hydrogen to the distribution centres or
power generation plants are expected to be built.
Petrol stations will be substituted with hydrogen
filling stations. Such scenarios are already
happening in Japan where the Government has
supported the development of 100 self-service
hydrogen refuelling stations. It has been reported
that companies such as Air Liquide of France, and
JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp, Tokyo Gas Co and
Iwatani Corp of Japan are actively participating
in building these infrastructures. It is also very
interesting to see if efforts by Iwatani Corp seeking
a partnership with 7-Eleven Japan will bear fruitful
results for the possible development of hydrogen
refuelling at their convenience stores. The cost of
each refuelling station is understandably high and
thus the priority is to reduce this construction cost
and it is possible that the cost may be reduced
Photo 1: A typical hydrogen refuelling station
during a visit to Kyushu University, Japan in
2012.
through integration with existing petrol stations.
A typical hydrogen refuelling station is depicted
above. The picture was taken during a visit to
Kyushu University in 2012.
Another promising application of fuel cells is in
stationary power generation plants in residential
and commercial buildings. It was reported that
100,000 fuel cells for homes and office use have
been installed in Japan and the statistics are rising
with the support from the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry of Japan. Though it might
take years before Malaysia completely forgoes
fossil fuels in power generation, the immediate
next step could be the blending of hydrogen with
liquefied natural gas (LNG) in conventional power
stations. Even though it may be small steps, it
is necessary to stimulate the development of
hydrogen economy in the country. The success of
this programme will depend on the commitment
of all stakeholders and the introduction of
attractive policies by the Government. Most of
the research and development programmes are
currently being conducted by local universities
through collaboration with foreign institutions. For
instance, Centre of Hydrogen, Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia has been working together with
researchers from Japan, Germany and Canada in
this field. The Centre is the authority in hydrogen
and fuel cell research and development, with an
excellent track record in publication, research
facilities and the development of human capital.
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