27th of June 2021 – In a very critical situation when the world are still unrelieved with Covid-19 , thank God a collaboration can still be tied between universities in different country in the spirit of research. A Letter of Cooperation (LoC) Document Exchange Ceremony was held on the 27th of June 2021 to mark the latest collaboration between Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and World Power Production (WPP) Energy GmbH on the unconventional green hydrogen generation through water electrolysis using lasers. The LoC between the Laser Centre, Faculty of Science, UTM and WPP was signed on the 27th of April earlier year.
In this ceremony, UTM was represented by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi bin Ismail while WPP Energy GmbH was represented by the Chief Operating Office & Chief Innovation Officer, Mr. Troy MacDonald. This LoC encompasses academic partnerships and collaborations between UTM and WPP; exchange of academic staff and students including undergraduate and postgraduate students, research and development in information and communication technology; joint seminars/conferences and joint supervision for postgraduate students. As one of the leading research universities in Malaysia, UTM has always shown great interest in identifying research collaboration networks, especially in green technology.
This collaborative effort is aimed at reducing carbon levels in Malaysia as well as globally. In recent years, hydrogen gas has attracted a lot of attention as a clean fuel due to the lack of fossil fuel supply and global warming. This technology has also been selected as a contributor in supporting the upcoming “HyFi” Hydrogen Trading Platform, which is a WPP initiative.
UTM expresses its special appreciation to the representatives of WPP-Malaysia; Agile Strategies Sdn. Bhd., and the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Center (MGTC) in making this collaboration a success. The event was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), the Academy of Sciences, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), and NanoMalaysia Berhad.
The collaboration focuses on advancing Laser Center UTM research which spans approximately 15 years and involves more than 10 researchers.