00:08all right thank you for tuning in Antonia Gawani and right now we want to dive in into energy
00:14sector where Southeast Asia is now emerging as a major driver of global demand as economies grow
00:21and digital infrastructure rapidly grows and at the same time the rise of AI artificial intelligence
00:27and data centers is actually transforming how electricity is used placing new pressure on
00:34power systems to deliver energy that is not just abundant but reliable and low carbon as well and
00:40this is actually creating a critical balancing act between growth energy security and sustainability
00:46so joining us today to share his perspective is the chief executive officer and managing director
00:51of Mitsubishi Power Asia Pacific Mr. Akihiro Ono-san thank you for joining us this morning how are you
00:57thank you for having me today amazing and thank you for taking the time to speak with Zonya Gawani
01:03let's start with a broader picture as mentioned we've seen the data indicating that over 90 percent
01:10of Malaysian businesses expect electricity consumption to actually increase significantly
01:15in the in the next few years and and this is largely driven by AI artificial intelligence
01:20digitalization digitalization and also industrial growth so from your perspective are you actually
01:27similar trends going on are you saying the same thing yeah so we see a significant growth of electricity
01:35demand in Asia Pacific region mainly driven by the stable economic growth and also the data center demand
01:44in Malaysia we see a joho as the rapidly expanding the data center hub and again with having the stable
01:57economic growth in Malaysia so the we have to address the addition of a power generation capacity here in Malaysia
02:07in Singapore
02:09we see similar trend there are a lot of investment on the industry and digital sectors then they also have
02:21the plan to add the capacity for power generation in
02:26in Vietnam they have continuous economic growth then in the power development plan introduced by the
02:34Vietnamese government they see a huge investment a continuous investment for new power generation
02:41facilities so under such circumstances the most important point is to address the energy
02:49energy security and resilience in addition to the energy transition objectives that's a very important
02:57regional perspective and it actually naturally raises questions about what comes next right
03:03so if demand continues to accelerate at this space it's not just an energy issue but an economic one as
03:09well
03:09so what do you think this means for the overall energy landscape
03:13and are there implications for Malaysia's economic competitiveness
03:19we believe Malaysia has in a very good position
03:24Malaysia has the a lot of gas resources natural gas resources then also the strong the gas infrastructure
03:34gas infrastructures so with combining the new capacity for a variable renewable energies
03:42then Malaysia will be able to meet the long-term economic growth targets
03:51but the current momentum in the global market we see a huge investment of data centers by hyperscalers in United
04:02States
04:03and that's resulting in the huge additional capacity for power generation
04:09in Middle East we see the appetite to convert from heavy oil to natural gas as a base fuel
04:18so with having such a momentum then we have to have a strategic dialogue with the stakeholders in Malaysia
04:29like TNB or Maracov then in order to secure the necessary resources or materials to build a new power station
04:42to meet such growing demand in Malaysia
04:45then we would like to continue such collaborative arrangement with the players in Malaysia
04:52then other area is that we have to optimize and maintain the existing power generation facilities in Malaysia
05:02so with complementing to the variable renewable energies then we have to improve the flexibility of operation
05:13and also prolong the lifetime of existing facilities to maintain the capacity to meet the growing electricity demand
05:24so we would like to support the Malaysia's energy management with our experience and commitment over the six decades in
05:38Malaysia
05:38and that balance between energy supply and also economic growth is clearly becoming more complex and dynamic
05:46and it brings closer to home for Mitsubishi power
05:49so how have you been shifting your businesses priorities to actually support these evolving needs, Ondo San?
05:57so as I mentioned earlier we have strategic collaboration with stakeholders in Malaysia like Tenaga National and Maracov
06:11actually just yesterday we have document exchange ceremony with TNB for their reservation of six units of our latest gas
06:23turbine
06:24one unit will provide 700 megawatt then six times of the 700 megawatt
06:32so with having such an early stage, the proactive dialogue
06:38then we can secure the necessary resources or materials right in the timing
06:43our stakeholders wants to install the new capacities
06:48so that is a big change from the traditional approach for the power generation industries
06:57and of course alongside the demand there is also an increasing urgency around sustainability
07:02where countries are under pressure to actually decarbonize quickly
07:06but businesses still require electricity that is both affordable and also reliable
07:12so in your view Ondo San, what is the most realistic path forward for countries in the region including Malaysia?
07:20of course renewable energy is the most important role
07:24having the most important role to meet the energy transition or net zero goals
07:31but the application with gas turbine
07:36we call it CCGT
07:40the combined cycle gas turbines
07:41that can provide another major pillar to meet energy sustainability
07:49the combined cycle gas turbine is consisting of the gas turbine utilizing natural gas
07:57then after generating power still that we have high temperature exhausted gas
08:04and we use this gas to generate the steam
08:07then again the generate power by a steam turbine
08:13so it does mean from the same calorific value fuel that we can get the power two times
08:19so this is most efficient system as a base road
08:24then if we replace aged coal
08:28all the coal facilities close to the retirement
08:32then we can automatically reduce 65% carbon dioxide
08:37just replacing the facility
08:41then that is the first step
08:43then on top of that we are validating our technology
08:48new technologies to co-fire the cleaner fuels such as hydrogen
08:53we already successfully completed the validation of 30% co-firing of hydrogen in the same gas turbine
09:04to be installed in TNB, Marakov, and even in Mili, Sarawak
09:11then also we completed the 50% co-firing test in the United States
09:20so step by step we will increase the firing ratio of hydrogen towards 100%
09:28so if we install the CCGT
09:33then start to generate power with natural gas
09:39after installing the new CCGT facilities
09:43then we can start to generate power with natural gas
09:48but step by step by step we can increase
09:51we can start the co-firing of hydrogen
09:54then increase the ratio towards 100%
09:57so this can provide a realistic approach for the energy transition and decarbonization
10:05while maintaining the base road capacity to provide energy security and resilience
10:12I appreciate that you walk us through on how the pathway for Malaysia especially
10:19but finally we see that as governments and also industries look further ahead
10:24long-term planning will be critical and that's for sure
10:28so looking ahead onto Sun
10:30what do you think will be most important for countries across the region
10:34as they actually plan for the future of energy?
10:37if I answer simply collaboration
10:41strategic collaboration
10:43that's crucial to move forward
10:47with addressing both energy security, affordability and sustainability
10:51as one example
10:54we are involved in one commercial project in United States
11:00utilizing our CCGT facility
11:05and also hydrogen production and storage
11:09and it's going to be started commercial operation sometime this year
11:14this project has ideal conditions
11:17to utilize excess renewable energies to produce hydrogen
11:22then store it underground using the natural sotoke barn
11:28so huge hydrogen tank can be built using the geographical conditions
11:34then we can utilize hydrogen in the CCGT plant next to hydrogen storage
11:43and also they have existing strong grid connection to Los Angeles
11:48big consumption area
11:50but even having these ideal conditions
11:54still the project requires the government support
11:58so US Department of Energy provided the loan guarantee to this project
12:04then finally the project could be happened
12:07so such public and private sectors collaboration
12:12is the most important element to move forward in the energy transition journey
12:18then that was Chief Executive Officer, CEO and Managing Director of Mitsubishi Power
12:25Mitsubishi Power Asia Pacific
12:27Mr. Akihiro Ondo or Ondo-san
12:29thank you so much for your insights
12:31appreciate it so much
12:32and it's clear that seeing rising energy demand
12:35while ensuring sustainability and also competitiveness
12:38will require not just innovation
12:40but strong collaboration across industries and governments
12:43and thank you for joining us again on Ondo-san
12:46and you can find this whole discussion on all of our social media platforms
12:49and that includes vestroawani.com
12:51thank you
12:52thank you
12:54thank you
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