PLTP Kamojang Becomes The First Geothermal Power Plant To Produce Green Hydrogen

PLTP Kamojang (Photo: PLN)

JAKARTA - The Kamojang Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) officially became the first geothermal hydrogen-based green hydrogen producer in Southeast Asia.

As you know, the Green Hydrogen Plant (GHP) at this new renewable energy plant (EBT) is the 22nd GHP built by PT PLN (Persero) and will supply green hydrogen for the Senayan Hydrogen Refueling Station (HRS) which was inaugurated Wednesday, February 21.

The geothermal green hydrogen is produced from water condensation from the Kamojang PLTP electricity production process. PLN plans to increase the GHP capacity at the Kamojang PLTP so that hydrogen production is getting bigger.

PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo said PLN continues to innovate in accelerating the hydrogen ecosystem by _end to end_ in Indonesia. Through the presence of GHP, said Darmawan, PLN also supports the development of hydrogen vehicles that are known to be economic and low in emissions.

"We want to try hydrogen green from the process of producing new and renewable energy purely. So, we build a GHP at the Kamojang PLTP, there is an additional 4.3 tons per year," Darmawan said in his statement, Friday, February 23.

Darmawan added, with the operation of GHP at the Kamojang PLTP, currently PLN has 22 GHPs spread across Indonesia that can produce 203 tons of green hydrogen per year. Darmawan detailed, from the total production of 203, 75 tons of hydrogen will be used for the operational needs of the plant. Meanwhile, 128 tons will be used to support the development of the hydrogen vehicle ecosystem.

According to him, assuming each car covers a distance of 100 km/day, the total production capacity of green hydrogen can be used for 438 cars a year and can reduce fuel import energy by 1.59 million liters per year to domestic energy.

"From the upstream side, we can finish it, from the downstream we build HRS as a pilot project, later there will also be hydrogen centers here," said Darmawan.

Expert Researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Eniya Listiani Dewi supports PLN in presenting HRS as an innovation in supporting green transformation in the transportation sector. Eniya also encourages the green hydrogen ecosystem to continue to be improved in line with the high public demand for environmentally friendly transportation.

"This is a historic moment to achieve Indonesia's gold 2045, which is not only advanced but also clean and sustainable. In the future, there will still be a lot of homework to complete the ecosystem as well as its demand. We will certainly encourage public transportation such as buses and ships," explained Eniya.