PTT Group, the Thai state-owned oil and gas company has confirmed its investment of  US$7 billion in green hydrogen with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power.

Moving ahead with its goal of net zero emissions by 2050, PTT expects the green hydrogen produced will be powering the future of EVs in ASEAN. Green hydrogen is obtained using renewable eenrgy sources, unlike brown and other generations of hydrogen which use fossil fuel in the production process. Renewable green hydrogen is obtained through the electrolysis of water that can be stored for usage like powering automobiles or industrial machinery.

Thailand is following in the footsteps of countries like Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Australia, which have invested billions in increasing production of  green hydrogen to a gigawatt scale.

“This is the first step to push Thailand to be an international exporter of the green power. Our feasibility [study] has now started, and we expect to have a final decision by the end of this year,” said Auttapol Rerkpiboon, the CEO of PTT Group. He further noted, “Despite being an energy conglomerate, PTT is persevering in its mission which aligns with the Thai government’s goals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero emissions by 2065.”

Auttapol further revealed the plans to build a plant in Thailand with a production capacity of 225,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year.

Green hydrogen is currently priced from US$ 2.70 to $6 per kilogram. However, with several governments across the globe working to support research and development projects. This cost is expected to fall to a range of US$ 2.0 to $2.5 per kilogram per kilogram to  efficiently build a hydrogen economy..

As a part of promoting green hydrogen in the country, PTT is already developing  supply ecosystems to boost demand, such as its subsidiary PTT OIL and Retail partnering with Bangkok Industrial Gas, Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing and Toyota Motors to set up hydrogen charging stations  in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor.

“The project is aimed at generating recognition of green hydrogen as a future energy source to create demand, and lead to economies of scale pushing Thailand toward eventually becoming the green energy supplier of the ASEAN region,” pointed out Auttapol.