State-owned electricity company PLN is collaborating with French company Hydrogen de France to develop hydrogen technology in Indonesia. In a visit to France, PLN CEO Darmawan Prasodjo signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HDF on April 18, 2023.
Prasodjo said that both parties made the same commitment to ensuring the availability of clean and affordable energy. Through the collaboration, PLN hopes to accelerate the development of hydrogen technology as well as reduce dependency on fossil energy.
“We appreciate HDF for this collaboration especially in relation to sustainable energy technology, in this context the utilization of hydrogen in the power plant sector, we hope that this cooperation will bring greater benefits for both parties,” added Prasodjo in a statement on April 19, 2023.
HDF is a France-based company pioneering in hydrogen to power solution. HDF develops and operates high capacity infrastructures to supply energy demand by utilizing renewable energy.
This cooperation will allow to accelerate the development of multi-megawatt power plants producing stable, continuous and green power to the grids, 24/7, called Renewstable®. It combines an intermittent renewable source (solar or wind) and mass and long-term storage of energy through a hydrogen chain.
Renewstable® is the green alternative to a classic diesel fuel power plant as it only use solar or wind energy and water to produce stable electricity, therefore avoiding greenhouse emissions and noise.
Renewstable®’s unique feature is its ability to serve baseload power which is powered thoroughly by renewable energy. In addition, HDF’s team is composed of experts in hydrogen infrastructures with 10 years of hands-on technical experience throughout the complete hydrogen value chain. They will be able to support PLN to improve its capacity and skills in the hydrogen field.
Prasodjo added that in the future PLN will replace fossil based diesel power plants in remote and isolated areas in Indonesia. The cooperation to develop hydrogen technology with HDF will be a solution to utilize natural resource potential in Indonesia . In addition to hydrogen, Indonesia is also developing solar panel power plant and wind power plant .
PLN’s Director of Corporate Planning and Business Development Hartanto Wibowo said that it is important to reduce carbon emission in the power plant sector. For that, PLN will develop hydrogen power as the main accelerator to ensure energy availability.
“This collaboration reflects how we can work hand in hand to develop sustainable energy technology,” he added.
Both parties, PLN and HDF will continue with a joint study to develop the technology especially on the utilization and storage of hydrogen. “There will be commercial pilot project on renewable energy and hydrogen in PLN’s power network,” he added.
Mathieu Geze, HDF’s Director for Asia and President Director of PT HDF Energy Indonesia, said that Indonesia is facing unique constraints due to its archipelago context. Geze explained that Renewstable® plants could assist Indonesia to decarbonize its grids while accompanying the Government’s agenda to support Eastern Indonesia’s development.
“Our projects pipeline will put Indonesia at the forefront of green hydrogen projects in Asia.” Geze said.
