Citaglobal-Genetec JV unveils Malaysia’s first locally produced battery energy storage system
11 Apr 2023
Citaglobal Genetec BESS Sdn Bhd, a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Citaglobal Bhd and Genetec Technology Bhd, on Tuesday (April 11) unveiled the country’s first locally developed and produced battery energy storage system by showcasing its fully operational one-megawatt BESS prototype (MYBESS), which it piloted in end-2022 and now supports the energy needs of Genetec’s EPIC plant.
The latest development follows the October 2022 agreement between Citaglobal and Genetec to develop battery storage management systems to store and manage excess power from renewable energy (RE) generation.
“MYBESS caters to different industry verticals — from transport, manufacturing, energy supply and distribution, to telecommunications — especially in grid integration to manage intermittent RE resources, which remains a challenge,” according to Citaglobal Genetec BESS chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Norza Zakaria.
“In short, this battery energy storage system solves many of our existing challenges in the distribution of power, storage, scalability and portability. When combined, the scalability and portability of the battery energy storage system solution, with an RE source such as solar, allow businesses and communities to get around challenges found within conventional electrification. It is a viable and cost-competitive product,” he said during the launch of the battery energy storage system at Genetec’s EPIC Plant here.
Mohamad Norza is also the executive chairman and president of Citaglobal, formerly known as WZ Satu Bhd.
Meanwhile, International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said MYBESS will help catalyse the local RE ecosystem and the decarbonisation of the country’s economy over the middle to longer term.
“In 2022, global RE capacity rose by 10%, while investment in the green energy transition amounted to a record US$1.1 trillion (RM4.86 trillion) nationwide. All these reflect the world’s firm shift towards a future increasingly powered by RE. For Miti (the Ministry of International Trade and Industry), one priority under the new investment policy involves strengthening Malaysia’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) [agenda] adoption, in support of Malaysia’s net zero [emissions] target by 2050, and a key component of this is to rethink how we generate, distribute, store, supply and consume energy.
“MYBESS is not only a step to support Malaysia’s [future] RE security, but also an important opportunity to begin positioning Malaysia in high-technology industries, and higher in the global value chain,” the minister added.
Genetec sees demand from Asian countries
Genetec founder and managing director Chin Kem Weng commented that he sees opportunities to supply the locally developed end-to-end battery energy storage system solution in neighbouring Asian countries.
“The idea is, we want to use MYBESS to replace the genset, because the genset is costly and unreliable. We see more people are now focusing on the ESG agenda, and going green.
“We have been scaling our readiness to support large orders and rising demand, as countries and companies across different industries fast-track their RE plans. Currently, we are engaging with a lot of potential customers. The opportunities are huge, especially in the Asian region. We will tap into the global region when we are ready,” Chin elaborated.
The total investment in the battery energy storage system, however, was not disclosed.
At Tuesday’s noon break, shares in Citaglobal finished up three sen or 2.07% at RM1.48, giving it a market capitalisation of RM561.76 million. Genetec was five sen or 1.76% higher at RM2.89, with a market value of RM2.17 billion.
Source: The Edge Markets
