Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Indonesian government is developing green hydrogen as a renewable energy source to achieve its carbon neutrality target by 2060.

"Development of green hydrogen provides a fresh alternative to reduce greenhouse gases," Director of Energy, Mineral and Mining Resources at the National Development Planning Agency, Yahya Rachmana Hidaya, said in a statement here on Monday (Nov. 15).

Yahya explained that the government was finalizing regulations related to the development of green hydrogen referring to the international standards.

Although the alternative energy has not been directed to develop on a commercial scale, green energy continues to be developed through various research and pilot projects.

Green hydrogen is also continuously introduced to actors and stakeholders in the energy sector as well as people through various activities and forums.

The World Energy Council (WEC)’s project manager Jan Michalski said that green hydrogen is increasingly being discussed by countries around the world, some of which have even been committed to implementing strategies and regulations related to energy development.

According to him, the need and demand for green hydrogen is also projected to increase in the future, along with energy transitions made by many industries.

The development of green hydrogen is seen as not only having an impact on accelerating decarbonization, but also the economic sector as it would open new jobs.

Currently, the governments of Indonesia and Germany are working together to develop various renewable energy potentials within the framework of the Strategic Exploration of Economic Mitigation Potential Through Renewables (ExploRE) project.

ExploRE’s principal advisor Dody Setiawan said, hydrogen could be an uneconomical choice and even not environmentally friendly if its development was not carried out properly.

"We should support the development of green hydrogen in Indonesia because in this way we could ensure that hydrogen is developed using renewable resources and has low or even zero carbon emissions," he said.

Dody added that the development of green hydrogen in the country requires international partnerships, including with technology providers, industries, and governments of other countries with more advanced experiences and green hydrogen technologies.

Partnerships are also the main approach in the ExploRE project to support the government's efforts to achieve energy mix targets and reduce emissions.

ExploRE promotes the development of green hydrogen in Indonesia through various programs, one of which is a joint study with Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina to explore opportunities for developing green hydrogen from geothermal for domestic and foreign market needs.

In addition, ExploRE is also working with HDF Energy to conduct an initial feasibility study for a hybrid solar power plant pilot project with green hydrogen in Sumba district, East Nusa Tenggara province.

Currently, the Indonesian government is also in the early stages of a study on the development and acceleration of green hydrogen investment which is planned to be implemented in the provinces of North Kalimantan and North Sumatra.

Those steps are expected to boost the realization of the use of green hydrogen so that it would contribute significantly in achieving Indonesia’s carbon emission reduction target.

Reporting by Indonesia Window