KOTA KINABALU: Cenergi SEA Bhd (Cenergi) and Kwantas Corporation Bhd (Kwantas) inked their first biomass development joint venture (JV) partnership in Sabah during a simple ceremony here recently.
Cenergi and Kwantas will jointly undertake the development, construction, operations and maintenance of a Bio Compressed Natural Gas (BioCNG) plant located at Kwantas’ Pintasan Palm Oil Mill in Lahad Datu that is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2025.
Cenergi is a subsidiary of UEM Group Bhd while Kwantas is a Sabah-based integrated palm oil producer involved in the entire palm oil supply chain business with a presence in Malaysia and China.
According to a statement by Kwantas, the plant will generate biogas through anaerobic digestion
of POME (Palm Oil Mill Effluent) and through a process of purification and compression of the biogas, convert the biogas into BioCNG.
BioCNG has gas composition similar to that of natural gas, enabling it to be used in the same way for heating and power, it said.
The BioCNG produced by this facility will be compressed into cylinder tubes and supplied to industrial off-takers in Lahad Datu via trailers that transport the cylinder tubes, the statement read.
BioCNG is considered an environmentally friendly renewable gas derived from wastes of palm oil mills, and it will enable users to reduce their carbon emissions towards their net zero goals, it added.
This development enables the start of an ecosystem which further supports the greening of the palm oil industry.
Cenergi Group CEO Hairol Azizi Tajudin said to date, Cenergi has a portfolio of a total of 33 biogas to electricity plants in Peninsular Malaysia.
This includes those under construction, which harness biogas from palm oil mill effluent and convert it to electricity for injection into the grid through Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda)’s Feed-in-Tariff programme, he said.
“This partnership marks Cenergi’s inaugural venture into biogas development in Sabah, and we are excited to play a part in enhancing the renewable energy options available to the industry,” he said.
“Our goal is to deliver sustainable BioCNG for industrial players in Sabah, meeting the rising energy demand, particularly in the East Coast region,” Hairol said.
He said this investment would contribute to a new path for the harnessing of wastes from the palm oil industry into environmentally friendly products.
Kwantas Group CEO Alvin Kwan said their ultimate goal is to reduce carbon footprint and tackle climate change issue by capturing gas emissions from the POME and converting it into sustainable BioCNG to fulfil gas and energy demands in Sabah’s East Coast region.
With the availability of BioCNG, the wide applications of BioCNG could potentially expand to applications in the transportation and manufacturing sector, he said.
