Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas company PTT Group has just announced plans to invest USD 7 billion in green hydrogen production. This will be done in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s leading renewable energy company, ACWA Power. The two companies announced the formation of a joint venture which aims to power electric vehicles in Southeast Asia, in line with PTT’s efforts to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
A new plant will be built in Thailand with a production capacity of 225,000 tons of hydrogen per year, or around 1.2 million tons of ammonia. The two companies, together with the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 for this project.
Meanwhile, PTT aims to create a supply ecosystem to boost demand for green hydrogen. Its subsidiary PTT Oil and Retail is working with Bangkok Industrial Gas, Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing, and Toyota Motors to install hydrogen charging stations in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor.
The USD 7 billion investment in green hydrogen production facilities is also within the broader context of restored diplomatic relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia after their ties were put on hold in 1989. The two countries achieved a diplomatic thaw in January 2022, when Thailand’s Prime Minister made the first visit between the two countries by a government head in over three decades.
(Sources: Green Hydrogen News; Hive Life)
