Sarawak has been marking significant milestones towards achieving a sustainable green economy, including its efforts to explore and produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from microalgae.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, who boarded an aircraft fuelled with SAF ‘made in Sarawak’ in May this year, said that this has clearly proved that the state is able to produce safe and reliable SAF for commercial use.
Sarawak had taken steps to explore microalgae as a potential source of renewable energy, with two facilities cultivating algae in the state.
The first facility is the CHITOSE Carbon Capture Central Sarawak (C4 Sarawak), located at Sejingkat Power Plant, which was officially launched in March.
The facility could produce 350 metric tonnes of algae biomass per year on its 5-hectare site; this can be processed to produce 87 metric tonnes of lipids, from which can be extracted about 45 metric tonnes of SAF.
The project, which began in 2020, is led by Japan’s CHITOSE Group (the primary contractor for the microalgae research project), Sarawak Energy, and Sarawak Biodiversity Centre.
It is also the world’s largest mass microalgae biomass production plant, fully funded by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) and managed by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI).
Meanwhile, the other facility is a collaboration between SEDC Energy and PETRONAS in Demak Laut.
Abang Johari said there are plans to scale up the cultivation to 1,000 acres (405 hectares) that can produce about 500,000 metric tonnes per year of crude algae oil or renewable oil, according to the scientists.
As such, this innovative technology will not only be a valuable addition to the Sarawak economy but also a significant contribution towards achieving the state’s green economy agenda for 2030.
Meanwhile, the Sarawak Methanol project in Bintulu is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2024.
The industrial park involves approximately 1,000 acres and will serve as the main industrial area for the petrochemical industry in Sarawak.
Once in full operation, the plant is expected to produce 5,000 metric tonnes per day, or 1.7 million metric tonnes per year, of methanol.
Apart from that, two major hydrogen manufacturing projects, H2biscus and H2ornbill, are expected to be operational in Bintulu Petchem Industrial Park in 2027.
Other than producing green hydrogen, the plants will also create new hydrogen-based industries such as the manufacturing of electrolysers, fuel cells, and the green chemical industry.
Sarawak Economic Development Corp’s subsidiary SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd is collaborating with Japan’s Sumitomo Corp and Eneos on the H2ornbill project, which will involve the large-scale production of green hydrogen.
SEDC Energy is also in a tie-up with three South Korean multinationals, namely Samsung Engineering, Posco, and Lotte Chemicals, to develop a green hydrogen derivative facility.
The three companies will take an active role in developing the entire cycle of the H2biscus project, which includes direct investment, construction, transportation, and utilisation.
It has been reported that the H2biscus project is expected to produce 7,000 metric tonnes per year of green hydrogen for Sarawak’s domestic use, 600,000 metric tonnes per year of blue ammonia, 630,000 metric tonnes per year of green ammonia, and 460,000 metric tonnes per year of green methanol for export.
With an estimated 30 trillion cubic metres of carbon storage capacity in the seabed of its continental shelf, Sarawak aims to begin carbon trading next year.
Realising the advantages of forest cover and depleted oil and gas fields offshore in Sarawak, which can serve as carbon sinks and potential carbon storage areas, Sarawak amended the Land Code and Forests Ordinance to enable the state to venture into carbon trading and storage.
Abang Johari is confident a new revenue stream for the state can come from the export of methanol and hydrogen, as well as by engaging in carbon trading and other green solutions, to achieve an annual growth rate of 8 per cent on average in the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) and reach its target of more than RM280 billion by 2030.
