JAKARTA. The Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia, Kanasugi Kenji, reportedly paid a visit to PGE Area of Lahendong, one of the geothermal work areas of PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy Tbk (PGEO) last Sunday (26/2).

Said visit was joined by the representatives of dari New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Pertamina NRE, PGEO, and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco HD).

It is worth noting that this visit is a follow-up of the plan of an integration of the geothermal power plant technology of PGE and the hydrogen production technology of Tepco HD. This collaboration is intended to establish an optimal operational technology, and will be supported by NEDO.

In his visit, Kenji said that currently, Japan and Indonesia are entering an agreement to realise the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC). This agreement, Kenji said, is made based on Indonesia’s high geothermal potential, as well as a shared mission of both countries regarding energy transition.

“It is also the second agreement made between both heads of states, Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, and Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, in a bilateral meeting during G20 Summit in Bali,” Kenji added.

Meanwhile, Dannif Danusaputro, CEO of Pertamina NRE, claimed that the hydrogen production is one of geothermal business sectors of Pertamina NRE in the future. “We are enthusiastic about this collaboration with Tepco HD, as well as with NEDO,” he mentioned.

PGEO is currently handling 13 geothermal work areas, boasting an installed capacity of 1.8 gigawatts (GW). Then, 672 megawatts (MW) of said total installed capacity are handled and generated directly by PGEO, while the remainders rely on joint operation contracts. (KR/ZH)