Egat, Egco join hands to build 5MW hydrogen fuel power plant, targeting reduction of CO2 emissions
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) will join two partners to develop a hydrogen-fuelled power plant late this year in line with the government’s policy to reduce carbon emissions, one of the partners said.
Thepparat Theppitak, president of Electricity Generating Co Plc (Egco), said that Egco is developing a hydrogen-fuelled power plant with Egat and Bloom Energy Co Ltd.
Thepparat said the first hydrogen power plant of the three partners would be built as a pilot project in the compound of the Klong Luang power plant in Pathum Thani province late this year or early next year at the latest.
In the first stage, the hydrogen power plant would generate 5 megawatts of electricity and its capacity would later increase to 25MW.
Meanwhile, Kulit Sombatsiri, permanent secretary at the Energy Ministry, said that Egat has been developing technologies to produce electricity from clean energy to help the government reach its carbon emissions target.
Kulit said solar and wind would become renewable energy with high-use ratio for producing electricity, and hydrogen would play a key role in the near future.
He said Egat is now experimenting on a wind-hydrogen hybrid power plant that can make 300 kilowatts of power. The hybrid system can use the excess electrical energy to decompose water in an electrolyser to produce and store the energy as hydrogen for use when wind energy dies down.
Kulit said Egat is also experimenting with a project to use ammonia, which has nitrogen and hydrogen, as fuel together with coal to generate electricity.
Kulit said the energy sector in Thailand is releasing about 333 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and the new national energy plan to be used next year is aimed at reducing 160 million tonnes of carbon emissions within 2030.
Thailand is among nations that has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero emissions by 2065.
PTT Plc has also pledged its support to help the government achieve the goals.
PTT president and CEO Auttapol Rerkpiboon said PTT Global Chemical is now studying how to use hydrogen obtained during the refining process for operating turbines of electricity generators.
He said the Global Power Synergy Plc is now studying with Avaada Energy Pte Ltd in India on the use of hydrogen and ammonia for generating electricity.
To support the use of clean energy, Auttapol said PTT has signed a memorandum of understanding with AET of Singapore to develop and build two zero-emission Aframax oil tankers with 120,000 metric tonnes capacity.
Auttapol said the oil tankers would be able to use both bunker oil and hydrogen as fuel. The first oil tanker will be delivered to PTT for leasing in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the second in the first quarter of 2026.
