Green Hydrogen Development Sarawak, Malaysia – Strategy and Regional Cooperation Opportunities
October 1, 2026 by Annie Nguyen, VAHC Secretariat
Speaker: Mr. John Tay, CEO of KPT Chemical Group, presented at Vietnam Hydrogen Economy Workshop by VAHC and HUTECH School of Engineering on September 30, 2026
Mr. John Tay opened with an introduction of KPT Group, established in 2009, with a Vietnam office at 62, Street 64, Area 14, Ward Cat Lai, Ho Chi Minh City. KPT Group has more than 150 employees and annual turnover of over VND 500 billion, with global offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. KPT Group operates in three main areas: KPT Green delivers integrated Air & Water Treatment solutions to protect the environments where people live and work; KPT Chem supplies high-purity and industrial chemicals essential for modern and green industries; KPT Energy delivers energy efficiency and clean energy solutions for industrial and power sectors.
Malaysia's Green Hydrogen Roadmap
Mr. Tay presented Malaysia's green hydrogen development roadmap across phases. 2005: Completion of 1 kW solar PV H₂ production system. 2006: Feasibility studies completed; joined International Working Group for Standard Development. 2007: First H₂ fuel boiler operational; COE established; scale-up of PV-Wind 5 kW H₂ production system. 2008: 5 H₂ production demonstration plants commissioned. 2009: First H₂ refuelling system using off-peak electricity operational. 2010: H₂ ICE conversion kit available in the market; second H₂ refuelling system using natural gas reforming operational; 10% increase in market sales achieved with 20% cost reduction. 2015: Renewable H₂ refuelling system operation; enhancement of H₂ technology; H₂ technology reduced by 30%. 2020: Infrastructure for H₂ production and delivery fully developed for global hydrogen-based fuel market; advanced storage technology developed (carbon nanostructure). 2025: Global supplier of hydrogen-based fuel; technology cost reduces by 50%. 2030: Hydrogen fuel cells development project completed; projects on centralised H₂ facilities completed; H₂ distribution systems and infrastructure for local network fully developed.
Sarawak – Malaysia's Green Hydrogen Hub
Mr. Tay introduced Sarawak as Malaysia's largest state with an area of 124,450 km² and a population of approximately 2.53 million people. Sarawak is taking a structured and phased approach to unlock the potential of clean hydrogen.
Green hydrogen potential: 100–200 ktpa by 2030, rising to 200–250 ktpa by 2035 and 400–500 ktpa by 2050. Blue hydrogen potential: 0 by 2030, but reaching 800–1,000 ktpa by 2035 and 1,500–2,000 ktpa by 2050. Mr. Tay noted that the development of blue hydrogen is subject to the development of CCS storage and infrastructure, optimal economics, off-taker agreements and implementation of supporting policies, which form the basis of the Sarawak Hydrogen Economy Roadmap (SHER). Domestic hydrogen consumption potential: 50–60 ktpa by 2030, rising to 140–160 ktpa by 2035 and 650–700 ktpa by 2050. Hydrogen export potential: 50–140 ktpa by 2030, rising to 860–1,090 ktpa by 2035 and 1,250–1,800 ktpa by 2050.
Hydrogen Hub Development Initiative
Mr. Tay introduced the first initiative of the roadmap: reducing the cost of hydrogen production through hub development. Three main pillars include: designing a streamlined regulatory and permitting process to enable seamless development of hydrogen hubs; upgrading and expanding port facilities in Bintulu and Kuching to support the export of hydrogen derivatives to international markets; and consolidating hydrogen production infrastructure to lower initial capital costs and enable economies of scale for clean hydrogen.
Global Partnership Opportunities
Mr. Tay introduced KPT Chemical, established in 2010 with 50 employees, supplying NH₃, H₂, industrial chemicals and gases, DG logistics and chemical facilities engineering. Facilities include chemical storage and terminal, chemical road tankers and vessels, NH₃ cylinder filling and mixing, and H₂ & NH₃ skid tank and cracking systems. The company held a roadshow of solid-state H₂ transportation solutions together with SEDC Energy (Sarawak) and PECC2 Vietnam on 8 January 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
