JAKARTA: The Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit started in Jakarta on Tuesday amid efforts to forge international collaborations in making hydrogen a key pillar of Indonesia’s clean energy transition, with plans to double its gas production rate in the coming years.
The summit is co-organized by the Indonesia Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of National Development Planning and Indonesia’s state utility company PLN.
Around 2,500 participants from 10 countries will be involved in the three-day forum and exhibition at the Jakarta Convention Center.
The summit marks a “new chapter” in Indonesia’s implementation of the Paris climate agreement, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said.
“Indonesia is consistent in its commitment to the Paris agreement. To implement it in the context of renewable energy sources and hydrogen, it cannot be done partially, it must be comprehensively,” Lahadalia said.
“In the next 10 years, we will double our gas production and I will push to direct the use of new gas wells to meet the demands of the domestic market and support downstreaming efforts, including producing hydrogen.”
Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of coal, and most of its power needs are met by burning fossil fuels.
In 2024, renewables accounted for around 15 percent of Indonesia’s energy mix. The country of 270 million people has been working to increase its renewable energy sources to meet its pledge of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Under its National Hydrogen Strategy, Indonesia plans to utilize hydrogen for decarbonization efforts, energy security and economic growth.
“Indonesia has an abundance of renewable energy potential … This Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit is a meeting and exhibition that connects all stakeholders,” Eniya Listiani Dewi, director general of new and renewable energy sources at the energy ministry, said during the opening ceremony.
“(It is) a platform for global collaboration where we can interact, exchange knowledge, build partnerships and do business matching, while also forging production and development of the hydrogen industry.”
During the summit, South Korea’s automaker Hyundai announced its partnership with Indonesia’s state owned oil and gas company Pertamina to produce hydrogen from organic waste sourced at the Sarimukti landfill near Bandung, the capital of West Java.
The Korean giant will establish an on-site hydrogen refueling station using Pertamina’s existing compressed natural gas infrastructure, with plans to start construction this year.
“The W2H (waste to hydrogen) ecosystem development project in Indonesia is especially meaningful as it marks the first case of expanding the resource-circulating hydrogen production demonstration project, which has been successfully carried out in Korea, to an overseas market,” Hyundai said in a statement.
“We hope to collaborate with the Indonesian government and companies to expand hydrogen production and further accelerate the transition to a hydrogen society.”
