by NURUL SUHAIDI 

MALAYSIA is taking a serious look at embracing the sustainable mode of transportation through the widespread usage of electric vehicles (EVs). There are many ongoing initiatives ongoing to develop the charging infrastructure and its availability to customers. 

Besides EVs that rely on batteries, hydrogen vehicles have also started gaining popularity in recent years. 

While both offer several advantages over traditional cars, they differ significantly, especially in terms of energy generation and storage. 

Hydrogen vehicles use a fuel cell that converts hydrogen gas into electricity, which then powers the electric motor. In other words, conventional automobiles use petrol or diesel, whereas hydrogen fuel cell vehicles release just water vapour as a byproduct of their operation. 

In Malaysia — while the enhanced focus is geared toward building EV car infrastructure and its charging points — hydrogen vehicles are still in the early-and-trial stages. They require significant investment and expansion to make them widely available. 

To kick off the future of this technology, the recent 12th Malaysia Plan (MP12) includes hydrogen as one of the government’s renewable energy (RE) initiatives to develop hydrogen-powered vehicles. 

Nationwide, there are a number of efforts to promote hydrogen vehicles. The underlying idea is to encourage change in the public minds in line with the mission to achieve carbon neutrality on top of advancing technology. Hydrogen vehicles’ research and development (R&D) is still far behind compared to EVs in Malaysia. 

Projects Underway 

But work is underway. Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) have forged a partnership to conduct a feasibility study on decarbonisation efforts cover- ing hydrogen and carbon capture. 

The national utility and the national energy company will repower the retired combined-cycle gas-fired power plant in Paka, Terengganu, by using gas with hydrogen-ready technology. 

“The repowering of Paka, with a capacity of 1,400MW, will avoid 3.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) emission per annum, which is equivalent to the CO2 emitted by approximately 700,000 cars each year,” said TNB president and CEO Datuk Indera Ir Baharin Din. 

TNB has identified two technologies that will bring sustainable decarbonisation to its thermal assets — namely the green hydrogen and carbon capture technologies. 

Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT, (MARii), for example, has the initiative to improve vehicle emissions. It is carrying out a hydrogen energy-efficient vehicle project to develop an energy-efficient alternative fuel source through the utilisation of hydrogen fuel technology. 

There is also the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) project to develop hydrogen hybrid vehicles that run on hydrogen fuel cells to be used on the campus. It was led by UKM Fuel Cell Institute Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Shahbudin Mastar @ Masdar alongside Prof Dr Siti Kartom Kamarudin. 

The vehicles are known as the UKM-FCH2HC — a mini version of a hybrid SUV and the UKM-FCH2B — which is a buggy. The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle was developed in collaboration with industry partners through the modification of EVs. 

Mohd Shahbudin said among the difficult aspects of developing hydrogen cell fuel vehicles is the high cost. 

“However, we believe in the country’s direction towards greener energy, which will result in mass production of these vehicles, lowering the cost of production for road users,” he said. 

Siti Kartom added: “My team and I are looking forward to working on a second generation of the vehicles with increased capacity.” 

Obstacles 

Hydrogen fuel cells are also more efficient than gasoline engines and have a greater range. Furthermore, hydrogen is abundant and can be generated from a variety of sources, including renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. 

However, there are still obstacles that must be overcome before hydrogen vehicles can become widely available. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of a robust infrastructure for producing, storing and distributing hydrogen fuel. 

Then there are the safety concerns. Hydrogen is highly flammable and must be handled with caution. 

Furthermore, the cost of creating hydrogen fuel cells is still high, making hydrogen vehicles more expensive than petrol-powered vehicles. 

Despite these obstacles, hydrogen vehicles are gaining popularity as a viable alternative to traditional petrol-powered vehicles. 

The widespread usage of EVs recently has generated traffic congestion at charging stations in hotspot areas. This may be an opportune time for the authorities to examine hydrogen fuel cells as an alternate mode of transportation, especially in Klang Valley or Putrajaya. 

Sarawak Takes Lead 

Interestingly, the state that has made significant progress in developing and commercialising hydrogen fuel cell technology is Sarawak, along with a bold plan to take the lead in hydrogen production and exports. 

The state previously launched South-East Asia’s first integrated hydrogen production plant and refuelling station in Kuching. 

It also introduced the nation’s first hydrogen-powered buses connecting the public and tourists to favourite tourist sites. The underlying idea is to support the vision for an emission-free public transportation sector for the state. 

Sarawak Economic Development Corp (SEDC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Hussain said Sarawak is able to produce two types of hydrogen — green hydrogen — which comes from hydropower and other renewable resources; and blue hydrogen — which is from natural gas. 

“Sarawak is in the position to produce both (types of ) hydrogen, which in the future will be required in large quantities. There will be a lot of demand when everybody starts to convert their vehicles into fuel cell vehicles,” he said. 

He said the plan is to integrate the hydrogen bus service as feeders to the proposed Autonomous Rail Transit (ART), which is expected to start in 2025. 

“Once ART system is in place, which also will be using hydrogen, we would then like to use these buses for connectivity to the other parts of Kuching,” he added. 

The construction and operation of the hydrogen production plant and refuelling station are undertaken by Sarawak Energy Bhd in collaboration with Linde EOX Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Linde Malaysia. 

In March, as part of Sarawak’s green mobility and green energy initiatives, Sarawak deputy premiers received Toyota Mirai — the hydrogen-powered vehicles — to be used as their official vehicles. Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg received his unit of Toyota Mirai in January. 

“There are not many vehicles using hydrogen-based engines (presently), but it will be encoded by phases the moment we have a lot of cars using hydrogen,” Abang Johari said. 

“On electric cars, we already have them in hybrid form, and while there aren’t many electric cars now, people have started buying them because of the incentives given by the federal government in terms of tax,” he added. 

Aside from Toyota Mirai, other hydrogen fuel cell vehicles include Honda Clarity and Hyundai Nexo. Then there are the hydrogen fuel cell buses and trucks deployed in cities all over the world. 

Globally, big carmakers are ramping up their presence in this space. Great Wall Motors Co Ltd, for example, has invested 2 billion yuan (RM1.28 billion) over the past five years to develop hydrogen power-related technologies that can be used for vehicles as well as marine and rail transport. 

German-based BMW has launched its hydrogen-powered SUV and soon will start delivering its iX5 hydrogen vehicle to selected partners in Europe, US and Asia, as well as rethinking strategy to develop its hydrogen infrastructure in the automotive world. 

With ongoing technological advancements, infrastructure development and awareness, hydrogen cars have the potential to become a crucial part of Malaysia’s sustainable and greener transportation system in future. 

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• This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition