| Danial Norjidi |
A SEMINAR on the utilisation of hydrogen was co-hosted by the Embassy of Japan in Brunei Darussalam together with a consortium of companies called Advanced Hydrogen Energy Chain Association for Technology Department (AHEAD), Chiyoda Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and also Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) yesterday.
The event at the UTB campus saw the Japanese Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Motohiko Kato emphasising the increasing potential of hydrogen as a new energy source.
He also encouraged Bruneians to take advantage of the currently ongoing global hydrogen supply chain demonstration project between Brunei Darussalam and Japan led by AHEAD, to assist in the diversification of Brunei’s economy.
During the seminar, Principal Researcher at the Technology Development Department of Chiyoda Corporation Dr Yoshimi Okada and Hiroki Toriyama from the Environment Business Team, Research and Development Department, Mitsubishi Corporation presented on the ever-changing technological and market trends relating to hydrogen.
Another speaker who was featured was Osamu Ikeda, Business Director in Brunei Darussalam of AHEAD and the Hydrogen Supply Chain Development Department of Chiyoda Corporation.
He spoke about the hydrogen project and its future perspectives.
In addition, Principal Lecturer Dr Naseem Uddin from the Mechanical Engineering Department of UTB, provided his insights from an academic standpoint.
UTB Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman delivered closing remarks at the event, noting “This seminar acts as a platform to learn, share knowledge and understand the maturity of the hydrogen technology from the pioneers and also to explore potential opportunities this area could offer in the near future.”
She said it is hoped that the series of talks from the event would inspire, promote and generate new research interests especially from the younger generation on considering making hydrogen as a renewable energy source in Brunei.
According to a press release from the Embassy of Japan, the seminar provided a valuable opportunity to engage the university’s community to consider hydrogen as a new energy source and its potential value.
The press release added that this project also exemplifies and strengthens the continuous bilateral ties between Brunei and Japan, not only in traditional Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) trade but also in developing new technology for the oil and gas sector.
AHEAD has been formed to implement the world’s first hydrogen supply chain demonstration project, which is funded by the National Research and Development Agency, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), between Brunei and Japan.
The project is within its construction phase and AHEAD aims to produce hydrogen from the Brunei LNG processed gas and transform it into liquid organic form using their patented technology in 2020.
The liquid organic hydrogen will then be transported to Japan to generate electricity.