Solutions that will reduce gas turbines’ energy consumption and prevent flare gas leakages to lower methane emission emerged as the grand prize winners of the recently concluded Race2Decarbonise hackathon organised by PETRONAS.
The winning solutions from the inaugural hackathon are poised to be matured, scaled, and deployed at PETRONAS’ facilities within the next two years in support of the Company’s Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2050 (NZCE 2050) short-term target of bringing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its Malaysia operations to 49.5 MtCO2e by 2024.
At the event, PETRONAS President and Group CEO, Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik said, “Race2Decarbonise aims to meet PETRONAS’ short term GHG emissions reduction target and reaffirms our commitment to create long-lasting, impactful sustainable decarbonisation efforts. This is a crusade against emissions because we believe that we need to deliver energy more responsibly and in a differentiated manner.”
Out of 500 submissions from 25 countries, 29 participants from Malaysia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the USA were shortlisted to pitch their ideas at the PETRONAS Leadership Centre from 13 to16 March.
The submissions underwent rigorous assessments for veracity, feasibility, and impact on carbon abatement and evaluated by a panel of independent judges from PTV International Ventures Americas (PIVA), Accenture, McKinsey, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and PETRONAS.
Participants’ identities and background were kept anonymous throughout the screening and judging process to ensure objectivity and transparency.
PETRONAS Senior Vice President of Project Delivery and Technology, Datuk Bacho Pilong said, “We are moved by the passion of the participants. The solutions are effective, ground-breaking, and probably even future-defining. We are confident of their impact, and look forward to seeing how these solutions enrich the lives of the community, our customers and stakeholders through strategic deployments at PETRONAS.”
The grand prize winners of Track A (Proven Solutions) and Track B (Novel Ideas) won USD100,000 and USD150,000 respectively, for their out-of-the-box ideas.
The winning solutions of Track A (in order of grand prize, first, and second runners-up) are Honeywell Gas Turbine-Battery Energy Storage System by a team comprising Honeywell and PETRONAS engineers, Organic Rankine Cycle by an Orcan-PETRONAS team, and Twin Screw Turbine Generators by a team from Heliex Power Ltd. All solutions were submitted in their individual capacity.
Track B winning solutions are New Generation of Blow Down Valve by a team from PETRONAS, Methane/ Flare Gas Electrolysis (Plasmalysis) by Graforce GmbH, and Decarbonisation of Ammonia Syngas Plant through Urea Production by a team from PETRONAS.
