Malaysia’s first integrated multi-fuelling station coming soon in Sarawak

Malaysia’s first integrated multi-fuelling station is expected to begin operations in Sarawak as soon as next month.

Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) chairman Abdul Aziz Husain said construction of the Petroleum Sarawak (Petros) station at Darul Hana in Petrajaya, Kuching, is nearing completion.

“Our first refuelling station at Darul Hana will be the first of its kind in Malaysia, maybe for the region,” he said at a groundbreaking ceremony today.

“We hope to be operational next month or early next year.”

The Petros multi-fuel stations are expected to minimise labour and will be driven by Internet of Things systems, including automatic sensors, big data analytics, and cashless payments through the SarawakPay platform.

They are designed to be fully converted to electric charging and hydrogen refuelling once the use of battery and fuel cell vehicles increases.

Aziz said such stations are needed to encourage public use of low carbon-emission powered vehicles.

He also said that Sarawak is set to expand its hydrogen economy, possessing the ability to produce hydrogen on a large scale given the energy resources from the state’s hydroelectric dams.

“There will be some challenges, but I believe we will grow to become experts in this field,” he said.

“Many people will ask why we are building stations when there are no hydrogen cars around. But the question is, if there are no stations, will people buy hydrogen cars or do they need to have stations to encourage them?”

He said Sarawak will also look into manufacturing or assembling hydrogen fuel cell components as part of efforts to expand the hydrogen economy.

“With many countries rushing to establish their own hydrogren economies in an effort to control worsening pollution, I believe Sarawak is at the right place and time to reduce carbon emissions,” he said.

A second station is planned for construction in Kuching, at the Batu Kawah New Township, while four others will be built in Sri Aman, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri.

They will be built by SEDC Energy, a subsidiary of SEDC, and operated by state-owned Petros.