H2 learning centre

Enapter and its part­ners today launched a project to cre­ate South­east Asia’s first green hydro­gen learn­ing cen­tre, in Chi­ang Mai, Thai­land. Ini­ti­at­ed with a con­tract sign­ing cer­e­mo­ny and vis­it to the Phi Suea House hydro­gen show­case, the project will be a part­ner­ship between Enapter, the Ger­man state-owned organ­i­sa­tion GIZ, and Chi­ang Mai University’s Ener­gy Research and Devel­op­ment Insti­tute of Nako­rn­ping (ERDI).

The green hydro­gen knowl­edge hub in Chi­ang Mai will con­sist of a train­ing cen­tre devel­op­ing and offer­ing hands-on cours­es using state-of-the art tech­nol­o­gy, and a unique green hydro­gen demon­stra­tion site. By train­ing project devel­op­ers, inte­gra­tors and oth­er ener­gy pro­fes­sion­als, the cen­tre will enable the growth of hydro­gen infra­struc­ture in the region, pro­mote region­al coop­er­a­tion and help posi­tion Chi­ang Mai and Thai­land as pio­neers in mod­u­lar hydro­gen sys­tem technology.

Green hydro­gen, pro­duced from renew­able ener­gy sources, has emerged as one of the most promis­ing alter­na­tives to fos­sil fuels. Thai­land has set ambi­tious decar­bon­i­sa­tion goals and sees hydro­gen as a key ele­ment in achiev­ing these tar­gets, with this coop­er­a­tion between the Thai and Ger­man pub­lic and pri­vate sec­tors set to play a role in sup­port­ing Thailand’s nation­al goals.

The project is being imple­ment­ed via the Inter­na­tion­al Hydro­gen Ramp-up Pro­gram (H2Uppp), an ini­tia­tive car­ried out by the GIZ on behalf of the Ger­man Fed­er­al Min­istry for Eco­nom­ic Affairs and Cli­mate Action (BMWK). It builds on the progress made thanks to the Phi Suea House in Chi­ang Mai, a mul­ti-house res­i­dence that in 2015 became the world’s first self-sus­tain­ing devel­op­ment pow­ered by a clean ener­gy sys­tem based on hydro­gen ener­gy stor­age. The Euro­pean Com­mis­sion in 2021 named it as one of 32 “Hydro­gen Val­ley” large-scale hydro­gen flag­ship projects around the world.

Phi Suea House was devel­oped by Enapter CEO Sebas­t­ian-Jus­tus Schmidt to show­case com­bined solar and green hydro­gen tech fea­si­bil­i­ty – and has evolved into a hub of hydro­gen activ­i­ty and a tech­nol­o­gy pro­to­typ­ing sand­box. It will be part of the part­ner­ship to set up the knowl­edge centre.

Sebas­t­ian-Jus­tus Schmidt – “Every new tech­nol­o­gy first goes through a learn­ing phase. The doubts that arise at the begin­ning can be reli­ably dis­pelled with edu­ca­tion and knowl­edge trans­fer. This project will act like a green hydro­gen light­house for the region and make Thai­land, and espe­cial­ly Chi­ang Mai, known as a knowl­edge cen­tre in hydro­gen, even beyond the country’s borders.”

Simon Rol­land, Ener­gy port­fo­lio Pro­gramme Direc­tor, GIZ – “Today marks a defin­ing moment in our pur­suit of a green­er and more sus­tain­able future. The estab­lish­ment of the green hydro­gen knowl­edge hub in Chi­ang Mai is a clear demon­stra­tion of our unwa­ver­ing com­mit­ment to clean ener­gy and sus­tain­able devel­op­ment. This project will not only pro­vide a train­ing ground for future project devel­op­ers, but also serve as a mod­el that show­cas­es the via­bil­i­ty of green hydro­gen sys­tems. With the com­bined efforts of CMU, Enapter, and GIZ, we are bring­ing togeth­er a wealth of knowl­edge and exper­tise that will make Chi­ang Mai a hub for inno­va­tion through­out South­east Asia.”

Prof.Pongruk Sribanditmongkol,M.D., Ph.D., Pres­i­dent, CMU – “This is cru­cial in address­ing the issue of cli­mate change and reduc­ing green­house gas emis­sions. We are proud to be a part of this impor­tant ini­tia­tive and look for­ward to work­ing togeth­er to make a pos­i­tive impact on the environment.”