Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is preparing regulations on the incentives and tax breaks needed by developers to step up the development of green hydrogen.

"This policy will later be included in the EBET Bill, which is still in the evaluation stage," said Andriah Feby Misna, the ministry's Director of Various New and Renewable Energy, at the Indonesia International Hydrogen Summit 2024 in Jakarta on Thursday.

"Apart from that, the government is also reviewing a national hydrogen strategy, which is expected to reduce the use of fossil fuels," she added.

Misna said that later, under the hydrogen regulation, there will also be standards governing tax holidays, tax allowances, taxes, and basic carbon trading regulations.

Based on data from the ESDM Ministry, the hydrogen production target for 2060 is 9.9 million tons per year (Mtpa).

The figure has been calculated based on the anticipated needs of the industrial sector (3.9 Mtpa), transportation sector (1.1 Mtpa), electricity sector (4.6 Mtpa), and household gas network (0.28 Mtpa).

"Apart from these four sectors, hydrogen also has the opportunity to become an export commodity," she added.

On the same occasion, Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) CEO Julfi Hadi said that, apart from incentives, tax breaks, price subsidies, and funding are also important points that must be prepared by the government.

"So far, there are no standard guidelines. We hope that in the future, there will be hydrogen export regulations, production and transportation standards, as well as a scheme for distributing electricity through national transmission (power wheeling)," Hadi added.

Meanwhile, Medco Power Indonesia CEO Eka Satria expressed hope that in the future, the government will create regulations that support sustainable industry and a low-carbon hydrogen ecosystem.

"This can encourage the entry of foreign investment," he added.

According to Seno Adhi Damono, a senior adviser at Hydrogen Energy Center Indonesia, investing in hydrogen development could help create a more environmentally friendly future.

"The development of hydrogen technology can reduce dependence on the use of fossil fuels," he said.

Deputy for Maritime Sovereignty and Energy at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs, Jodi Mahardi, said that Indonesia is geographically close to countries that have a high demand for clean hydrogen.

Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, for instance, together represent a hydrogen market of around 4 Mtpa.

Indonesia has the second-largest gas reserves in the Asia-Pacific and the third-largest CO2 storage potential in the region for blue hydrogen.

Meanwhile, in terms of green hydrogen, Indonesia has the second-largest geothermal potential in the world and a potential solar power capacity of more than 200 GW.

"The hydrogen sector presents new opportunities for Indonesia to utilize its abundant energy resources to encourage higher economic growth," Mahardi said.

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