- H2Uppp SouthX Project assesses southern Thailand’s bio-resources to explore opportunities for future green hydrogen and e-methanol production.
- In May, project partners conducted site visits in Songkhla to assess local biomass resources and existing industrial infrastructure supporting the project’s feasibility assessment.
- The project brings together GIZ, PTT, thyssenkrupp Uhde, and academic experts to evaluate Southern Thailand’s potential for sustainable carbon-based products.
From 6-7 May 2026, partners of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Green Hydrogen and Sustainable Carbon-based Products in Southern Thailand (SouthX Project) conducted a field mission to Songkhla province to support ongoing bioresource assessment and strengthen understanding of local feedstock availability and infrastructure for future e-methanol production.
SouthX is implemented under the International Hydrogen Ramp-up Programme (H2Uppp) and represents a collaborative effort between public and private stakeholders from Germany and Thailand. The project is jointly implemented by PTT plc (PTT), thyssenkrupp Uhde (Thailand) Ltd. (tkUTH), and GIZ to explore opportunities for green hydrogen and sustainable carbon-based products (e-methanol) in southern Thailand.
Southern Thailand presents several strategic advantages for future hydrogen and Power-to-X (PtX) development, combining renewable energy potential, abundant agricultural resources, and established industrial and energy infrastructure. The region also hosts diverse bio-resources, including agricultural residues and industrial by-products such as rubber wood residues, coconut biomass, and organic waste streams, which may provide opportunities for integration with future green hydrogen pathways.
Advancing the bio-resources assessment
One of the goals of SouthX focuses on identifying and assessing bio-resources and enabling infrastructure in southern Thailand to understand their potential contribution to e-methanol production. Under this project, the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology, conducted a comprehensive bio-resources assessment covering biomass availability, sustainable carbon sources, agricultural residues, organic waste streams, industrial by-products and biogas resources across southern Thailand.
The project team visited Panel Plus Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of engineered wood products under the Mitr Phol Group, to gain insights into the current production and supply chain conditions of biomass resources, including wood chips and root stump chips. Discussions focused on resource availability, feedstock conditions and operational processes, complemented by on-site observations of production activities.
Learning from industry and local conditions
The project team also visited Trans Thai-Malaysia (Thailand) Ltd. (TTM), which operates the natural gas transmission pipeline and gas processing infrastructure in southern Thailand as a joint venture between PTT and PETRONAS (in Chana district) to exchange technical knowledge, review project progress, and assess existing infrastructure and technical studies that could support future project development. A key objective of the site visit was to verify whether the actual site conditions aligned with the preliminary engineering design, including the proposed plant layout and the arrangement of major processing equipment. The site visit enabled project partner tkUTH to validate key engineering assumptions and integrate site-specific observations into the ongoing feasibility assessment.
Discussions with TTM representatives, including Tamjai Palangsinchum and Taras Songwisuth, provided valuable insights into local infrastructure and potential opportunities for future green hydrogen and e-methanol development. The involvement of local university experts strengthened the assessment by providing regional expertise and engineering insights, while enhancing collaboration between industry, academia and project partners to support future low-carbon energy development in Southern Thailand.
Beyond assessing the technical feasibility of green hydrogen and e-methanol production, the SouthX Project partners also aim to strengthen collaboration, knowledge exchange and local capacity across industry, academia and the public sector. The ongoing bioresources assessment and field activities therefore go beyond data collection by identifying opportunities to integrate local biomass resources, existing industrial infrastructure and regional expertise into future low-carbon value chains.
These efforts support the development of southern Thailand as a potential hub for green hydrogen and sustainable carbon-based products, contributing to Thailand’s long-term energy transition, industrial decarbonisation and green economic growth.
The H2Uppp programme, financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), is implemented globally. In Thailand, GIZ implements the project together with the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce (GTCC), with the aim of supporting policy and market development for green hydrogen and Power-to-X through expert networking, knowledge dissemination and public-private partnerships (PPP).
More information about the H2Uppp programme: https://www.thai-german-cooperation.info/international-hydrogen-ramp-up-programme-h2uppp/
