KUALA LUMPUR: IHI Corp has partnered with Gentari Hydrogen Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), to explore green ammonia production and sales in Malaysia.
The company has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Gentari Hydrogen to evaluate the feasibility of leveraging the abundant solar resources of Malaysia to produce and sell green ammonia derived from renewables.
Under the memorandum, both parties will consider a business model for ammonia production in Johor, Malaysia.
This is a suitable site for solar power generation, where green ammonia will be produced, used locally for power generation and marine fuel supply, and exported to the Japanese and Asian markets, it said.
In this study, IHI Corp will conduct technical studies and ammonia demand surveys for Japan. At the same time, Gentari Hydrogen handles the assessment of renewable energy supply and various facilities in Malaysia, as well as various market demand surveys.
After conducting a feasibility study which runs until the beginning of 2023, the project aims to develop a commercial ammonia production plant to commence operations before 2030.
Currently, commercially available ammonia derived from fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide during production. However, applying green ammonia in end-use segments such as power generation, marine fuels, and raw materials for fertilizers could keep carbon dioxide emissions throughout the supply chain at low levels.
Furthermore, technologies for green ammonia production, storage, and transportation are already well-established and can accelerate market deployment.
Both parties aim to demonstrate several ammonia application models in Malaysia through this feasibility exploration.
They will also build a fuel ammonia supply chain to address the future increase in clean fuel demand.
It will thereby help accelerate the adoption of fuel ammonia and contribute to improved sustainability.