KUCHING: Sarawak has a “very bright future” in South Korea’s hydrogen plan because the state is one of the closest exporters to the country and has a stable business environment.
This assertion came from Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI) director of research planning and coordination Dr Lee Ho Mu.
He said after South Korea announced its hydrogen economy roadmap back in 2019, the country had been approached by many promising hydrogen exporting countries like Argentina, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Australia and a long list of other countries as well.
“Korea and Sarawak have long-lasting ties in terms of the energy sector because we are importing more than 40 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Sarawak is one of the biggest exporters in the LNG industry.
“On the other hand, in a rural area of Sarawak very close to the Indonesian border, a Korean company, Nuri Flex Co Ltd, is working to help the people there obtain a sustainable supply of electricity.
“Today, I am hopeful that our ties will become stronger because I see the passion and very clear vision of the Sarawak government about leading the ASEAN region in terms of green economy and carbon neutrality.”
Dr Lee said this during a panel discussion on Opportunities in the Domestic Industry and Energy Value Chains as part of the Sarawak-Korea Energy Business Forum 2022 held at a hotel here today.
He also pointed out that both Sarawak and Korea would enjoy very good chemistry because Korea would have world-class clean energy technology while the latter had abundant clean energy resources to complement each other.
“I will go back to Korea and spread the good news that Sarawak is hydrogen ready,” he said.
Also present during the panel discussion were Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Dr Hazland Hipni, Sarawak Economic Planning Unit (EPU) director Datuk Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel, Sarawak Energy Berhad Group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Sharbini Suhaili, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) general manager Abdul Hadi Datuk Abdul Kadir, SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd CEO Robert Hardin and Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS) senior vice president corporate strategy Abang Arabi Abang Narudin.
