Samsung Engineering, Lotte Chemical, Korea National Oil Corporation, and Sarawak Economic Development Corporation Energy (SEDC), Malaysia, announced on November 23 that they have started the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) of the Sarawak H2biscus clean hydrogen project in Malaysia and held a Kick-Off Meeting.
The Kick-Off Meeting, held at the Global Engineering Center (GEC), Samsung Engineering's headquarters in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, on November 23, was attended by representatives from each of the participating companies, including Cheon-Hong Park, Vice President of Samsung Engineering, Yong-Hak Kim, General Manager of Lotte Chemicals, Jin-Hwan Jang, Team Leader of Korea National Oil Corporation, and Robert Hardin, President of SEDC Energy, to review key issues and timelines related to the progress of the FEED and share strategies.
The H2biscus project is a project to produce and introduce clean hydrogen based on renewable energy in Sarawak, Malaysia. The FEED is for a 150,000-ton-per-year green hydrogen production plant and an 850,000-ton-per-year green ammonia conversion plant to be built in Malaysia.
The FEED will be executed exclusively by Samsung Engineering and is expected to be completed in 2024. By examining both Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) and Alkaline Electrolysis Cell (AEC) technologies, the company plans to derive an optimized hydrogen production method in terms of efficiency and economy.
The award of the FEED also puts the H2biscus project on track. The H2biscus project, which was first launched in early 2022, was on track to secure renewable power for the Soojeon Sea through an MOU in September of the same year.
Based on this FEED, a Final Investment Decision (FID) is expected by the end of 2024, and if passed, the project will begin Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) in late 2024. Commercial production of hydrogen is expected to begin in early 2028, contributing to the revitalization of Korea's hydrogen economy.
"We have taken the first step to proceed with the H2biscus project, which has great significance both domestically and internationally," said an official from Samsung Engineering. "We will successfully develop the project from basic design to final investment decision, EPC startup, and commercial production, and make it a role model for global clean hydrogen development projects."
Meanwhile, Samsung Engineering is focusing on securing technologies and business development in the clean hydrogen and CCUS fields to solve social challenges and strengthen the foundation for sustainable growth in the mid- to long-term in the era of energy transition.
