Dr Hazland Abang Hipni
KUCHING (Dec 21): Sarawak’s foray into the hydrogen-powered Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system is the first step in decarbonisation of the transport sector, said Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Dr Hazland Abang Hipni.
He said when the system becomes fully online, it is predicted to reduce traffic in Kuching-Sri Aman-Serian at a conservative estimate of 6 to 12 per cent.
“Together with hydrogen-powered buses, it is expected that 15 per cent of the carbon footprint from transport in the Kuching area will be reduced by 2030,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dr Hazland explained the additional advantage of hydrogen for public transport – like ART and commercial trucking – is the ability to utilise existing roads and infrastructure which negates the need to create new expensive logistics infrastructure.
He further said this is ideal for towns and cities that are already densely populated whereby it is costly to build new railways or subways.
He also said hydrogen-powered ships are also a possibility for Sarawak given the importance of rivers and coastal waters to the socioeconomic welfare of the people.
He added that at the same time, such ships safeguard the environment of the surrounding river and forest ecosystem, the by-product being water returned to the rivers and sea with no pollutants.
“With ever improving availability of electricity in the rural areas of Sarawak, the development and installation of localised electrolysers (equipment that converts water to hydrogen and oxygen using electricity), rural communities can create their own fuel source for cooking, transport and can even store the hydrogen to be used as an energy source during emergencies,” he said.
Dr Hazland’s statement was issued following the ground breaking of Phase 1 of the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) Project last Friday by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
The project involves the design, construction and commissioning of the ART’s approximately 69.9km route.
The passenger service for the ART is scheduled to be introduced in stages, starting from the fourth quarter of 2025.
The first hydrogen-powered ART vehicle will arrive in Kuching in the third quarter of 2023, for Sarawak Metro’s proof-of-concept exercise for the vehicle, which is scheduled to be held in July 2023.
Dr Hazland said the ART system, the world’s first to be powered by hydrogen, represents Sarawak’s commitment to decarbonise the transport sector in achieving the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 aspiration of Environmental Sustainability, Economic Prosperity and Social Inclusiveness.
“The hydrogen molecule has no carbon atoms, which means its combustion produces only water and energy (heat), making hydrogen the perfect molecule in the decarbonisation of the energy and transport sector.
“The challenge is to produce clean hydrogen and increase accessibility to hydrogen stations to replace fossil fuels as the primary fuel for transport and energy generation,” he added.
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