THAILAND JOINS ASEAN BATTERY INITIATIVE TO BOOST ECONOMY

Thailand has partnered with five technology and EV organisations in Asean to jointly study and develop EV battery technology in a fresh move to strengthen the growing industry in the region.

The partnership would also support Asean’s economy under its sustainable development concept, said Pimpa Limthongkul, president of the Thailand Energy Storage Technology Association (Testa).

Testa signed a memorandum of understanding on battery development with five partners during the first Asean Battery and Electric Vehicle Technology Conference in Bali, Indonesia this month.

“The MoU is expected to help strengthen the collaboration within our region. It will be a good starting point for us all to move together in an important and fast-growing industry,” commented Ms Pimpa. Yossapong Laoonual, head of the Research Centre at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, said the key highlight of the MoU between the six leading associations in the region is to support research and development collaboration in the area of batteries.

The parties plan to develop and promote the Asean battery ecosystem that will facilitate the growth of the battery industry.

Malaysia will lift a ban on exports of renewable energy as part of efforts to develop its clean power industry and boost generation from non-fossil fuel sources, said its economy minister this month.

The South-east Asian country, which currently generates just over one per cent of its electricity annually from renewable sources, banned its exports in Oct 2021 in the hope of developing the local industry.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said reversing the ban will help firms build renewable power generation capacity on a larger scale and take advantage of high demand from neighbouring Singapore.

“The creation of an electricity market system to implement cross-border renewable energy trade will put Malaysia ahead as a regional renewable energy hub,” Minister Ramil said in a statement.

Malaysia has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions dramatically by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The International Renewable Energy Agency has said that Malaysia will need to double its investments in renewable power capacity, infrastructure and energy efficiency to at least US$375 billion in order to achieve that ambitious target.

The Minister said the government aims to increase the proportion of renewable energy supply to 70 per cent of its total capacity by 2050.