Petronas and ENEOS partnership extends to hydrogen

Malaysian energy giant Petronas has teamed up with Japanese energy company ENEOS Corporation to develop a clean hydrogen supply chain between the two countries.

Petronas, through its subsidiary Petrogas Gas & New Energy (PGNESB), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ENEOS. The goal is to jointly develop a clean hydrogen supply chain and to explore other hydrogen opportunities.

Both parties will take part in a joint study of a hydrogen supply chain. The study will include hydrogen production and its transportation in methylcyclohexane (MCH) form. In this form, hydrogen is converted from its original gaseous state into a liquid form to enable large volume deliveries. 

The companies will also explore low carbon hydrogen production from Petronas’ petrochemical facilities. In the future, they will look at green hydrogen produced by renewable energy. 

Furthermore, this move expands their three-decade-long energy partnership focused on liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“This partnership is a testament of how industry collaboration can help accelerate our shared aspiration towards a low carbon future,” said Petronas CEO Adnan Zainal Abidin. 

The development of liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology such as MCH is fast gaining traction. This is due to its chemically stable nature that allows for long-term storage and long-distance transport. Moreover, the use of LOHC leverages existing infrastructure which heavily reduces the need to develop new assets, thus making it a viable option for established energy players to implement.

For this project, ENEOS has applied for funding from the Japanese government.

The MoU stems from both PETRONAS’ and ENEOS’ common aspiration of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

To remind, Petronas already produces low carbon hydrogen from its facilities and will soon explore the commercial production of green hydrogen.