South Korean firms Samsung Engineering, Lotte Chemical and Posco today signed an agreement with SEDC Energy, a subsidiary of state-owned Sarawak Economic Development, to develop a green hydrogen and ammonia project at Bintulu in Sarawak, Malaysia.

The Sarawak H2biscus green hydrogen and ammonia project will convert hydropower and natural gas to green hydrogen/methanol and blue hydrogen respectively. It will also convert hydrogen to ammonia, which is aimed at supplying hydrogen and ammonia to South Korea and Sarawak. But no details on the schedule for development of the project were provided.

A pre-feasibility study was carried out in 2021, with the plant expected to produce 7,000 t/yr of green hydrogen, 600,000 t/yr of blue ammonia, 630,000 t/yr of green ammonia and 460,000 t/yr of green methanol, according to Samsung Engineering.

"The H2biscus project brings the opportunity to produce a wide range of eco-friendly products, such as green hydrogen, green and blue ammonia, green methanol and CCU… establishing hydrogen-related standards for the two countries," said Samsung Engineering president and chief executive Sungai Choi.

Posco and Lotte Chemical have also signed agreements with Saudi Arabia's state-controlled Saudi Aramco to explore potential partnerships in hydrogen and ammonia projects.

Hydrogen appeal as an alternative to fossil fuels is building with the global push towards net zero carbon emissions. Firms like Malaysia's state-owned Petronas are also exploring hydrogen ventures, as its versatility as a fuel, heat source and feedstock means that it can be used in many sectors such as transport, industries and power generation. Demand for hydrogen is projected to increase by almost eightfold to 550mn t/yr compared with 70mn t in 2020, according to Petronas' outlook.