PLN EPI Builds Green Hydrogen Foundation As A Pillar Of Indonesia's Energy Transition

JAKARTA - PT PLN Energi Primary Indonesia (PLN EPI), a subholding from PT PLN (Persero), affirms its commitment to becoming a pioneer in the development of the green hydrogen ecosystem in Indonesia.

Director of Gas and BBM PLN EPI, Rakhmad Dewanto said that this effort was part of PLN's great strategy to support Indonesia's Net Zero Emissions (NZE) target in 2060.

According to him, the electricity sector currently accounts for around 310 million tons of CO2 per year and without intervention, this figure is projected to increase to 1,057 million tons of CO2 by 2060.

PLN cannot continue to carry out business-as-usual scenarios. Therefore, through the _Accelerated Renewable Energy Development_ (ARED) scenario, PLN projects that hydrogen cofiring capacity can reach 41 GW by 2060 to reach NZE," said Rakhmad in his statement, Sunday, April 20.

Rakhmad said that the development of green hydrogen and ammonia is one of PLN's important initiatives to complement the development of renewables energy, smart grids, and CCS to support the success of decarbonization.

Meanwhile, PLN has realized several important projects including the establishment of the Green Hydrogen Plant (GHP) in 21 locations in October-November 2023, the establishment of Green Hydrogen from Geothermal and hydrogen refueling facilities (HRS) in Senayan in February 2024, Hydrogen Cofiring for PLTG Pesanggaran in December 2024, Hydrogen Fuel Cell in Gili Ketapang and mainstayia cofiring for the Labuan PLTU in February 2025.

"Furthermore, PLN will continue testing hydrogen cofiring for PLTGU Tambak Lorok and Priok. Meanwhile, the development of hydrogen fuel cells as a complement to renewable for micro grids will be developed in Medang Island, Rengat, Suge and Waingapu," he explained.

Rakhmad said that the Hydrogen Fuel Cell is expected to be an alternative to reduce the use of diesel in areas separate from the network.

According to him, the next step is a study for the development of hydrogen factories in Jambi and Greenctionia in Dawuan.

He conveyed that the use of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia at PLN would be directed primarily at the electricity sector. However, production processes will be explored for transportation, industry, and commodities.

In addition, Rakhmad said that in the electricity sector, PLN will supply hydrogen and ammonia for cofiring in fossil power plants and support off-grid electricity systems through hydrogen-based energy storage solutions.

"Green hydrogen is not only a matter of energy transition, but also energy independence, competitiveness and Indonesian export opportunities in the global energy market," he explained.

According to him, the development of Green Hydrogen has its own challenges, the main problem is the price of renewable energy which is still relatively expensive compared to other energy resources.

He conveyed that to encourage the development of green hydrogen and ammonia, government support is needed, such as local incentive and carbon tax, technology development, infrastructure capacity and low-cost funding.

Therefore, Rakhmad conveyed that PLN EPI is open to collaborating with all parties, ranging from investors, technology providers, financial institutions to regulators, to answer these challenges.

Rakhmad emphasized that multi-party synergy is the key so that Indonesia can become the epicenter of production and exports of green hydrogen in Asia.

"We believe that with synergy, innovation and sustainability, Indonesia is not only able to meet its energy needs, but also plays an important role in decarbonizing the global energy system," he concluded.