In Chiang Mai, Thailand, German Enapter and its partners started an initiative to build Southeast Asia’s first green hydrogen learning center.
The project will be a collaboration between Enapter, the German state-owned organization GIZ, and Chiang Mai University’s Energy Research and Development Institute of Nakornping, and will begin with a contract signing ceremony and a visit to the Phi Suea House hydrogen showcase (ERDI).
The green hydrogen knowledge hub in Chiang Mai will include a training center that will create and give hands-on courses employing technology, as well as a one-of-a-kind green hydrogen demonstration site. The facility will facilitate the establishment of hydrogen infrastructure in the region, encourage regional cooperation, and help position Chiang Mai and Thailand as pioneers in modular hydrogen system technology through teaching project developers, integrators, and other energy experts.
Green hydrogen, which is generated using renewable energy sources, has emerged as one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels. Thailand has set high decarbonisation ambitions and sees hydrogen as a critical component in meeting these targets, with this collaboration between the Thai and German public and corporate sectors set to help Thailand’s national aspirations.
The project is being carried out under the International Hydrogen Ramp-up Program (H2Uppp), a GIZ initiative on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). It builds on the success of the Phi Suea House in Chiang Mai, a multi-house dwelling that became the world’s first self-sustaining development powered by a sustainable energy system based on hydrogen energy storage in 2015. In 2021, the European Commission designated it as one of 32 “Hydrogen Valley” large-scale hydrogen flagship projects worldwide.
Enapter CEO Sebastian-Justus Schmidt created Phi Suea House to demonstrate the viability of combining solar and green hydrogen technology – and it has now expanded into a centre of hydrogen activity and a technological development sandbox. It will be a part of the collaboration to establish the knowledge center.
