Indonesian state-owned PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy is exploring the developing of green hydrogen production and the extraction of rare earth metals with its geothermal operations, so an article by KataData today.

President Director of PGE Ahmad Yuniarto said that the geothermal operations of PGE have so far focused on the production of electricity, but there are opportunities in expanding the value extraction from geothermal energy and the production of green hydrogen is one of them.

The company is now exploring the Ulubelu geothermal working area (WKP) as the first site for a project researching the development of green hydrogen production. The reason is that the geothermal fluid in the area is still dominated by water and hot steam which is suitable for hydrogen development.

The market potential for green hydrogen is also wide open. Besides being able to be used for fuel in the transportation sector, this energy can also be used for the petrochemical industry which has been using hydrogen produced with a higher emission footprint.

According to him, along with the need to reduce carbon emissions, the need for green hydrogen becomes a necessity. Singapore and Japan, for example, have prepared themselves to enter into the utilization of this energy. “This is certainly an opportunity for our green hydrogen exports,” he said. In addition, Ahmad also talked about the potential for utilizing and increasing the added value of associated mineral resources in geothermal fluids. It is even currently studying the potential of nano silica minerals. “This mineral has added value as well. Can we efficiently extract this nano silica,” he said.

In several places he also talked about the potential of rare earth metals. Even so, Ahmad doesn’t know how big the potential and the economy is to extract it.