Dr. Rezal Khairi Bin Ahmad, CEO of NanoMalaysia Berhad
Malaysia is standing at a pivotal second in its pursuit of a cleaner, extra resilient financial system. With the federal government pledging carbon neutrality by 2050, the nation is accelerating its adoption of electrical autos (EVs) and vitality storage options.
On the coronary heart of this transformation lies the battery, the linchpin expertise shaping the tempo and path of the nation’s low-carbon future.
Regardless of rising enthusiasm, Malaysia’s battery sector stays younger. In accordance with Dr. Rezal Khairi Bin Ahmad, CEO of NanoMalaysia Berhad (NMB), “The lithium-ion based mostly battery {industry} in Malaysia continues to be at its infancy stage and primarily pushed by international direct investments and applied sciences from overseas, leaving little room for native mental fairness.”
The federal government’s choice to grant tax exemptions on utterly built-up (CBU) battery electrical autos (BEVs) till 2025 has spurred shopper uptake. But Dr. Rezal cautions that is solely a short-term measure: “Whereas it’s a nice catalytical begin, it’s not sustainable. With world provide chain uncertainty because of present geopolitical state of affairs, the nation requires a long-term sport plan to make sure native expertise and industrial possession.”
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Recognising these vulnerabilities, NMB has led the launch of the NanoMalaysia Vitality Storage Know-how Initiative (NESTI) in 2022, a part of the twelfth Malaysia Plan.
“A key consequence manifested within the type of a commercially viable lithium-ion battery expertise with 60 per cent vitality density benefit over present market choices,” Dr. Rezal says.
This breakthrough helps plans for a Gigafactory Malaysia, an industrial-scale manufacturing hub that would anchor the nation’s function in EV and battery provide chains. Past automobiles, the chance is even broader.
“The expansion in low carbon mobility market and push for the nationwide grid and renewable vitality sector to undertake battery vitality storage system (BESS) current demand for regionally produced batteries,” he provides.
Round financial system as a useful resource technique
Malaysia’s restricted pure reserves of lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt current a elementary problem. To deal with this, NMB is popping to sustainability-driven innovation.
“Within the absence of naturally resourced battery supplies, round financial system method is adopted to extract lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt and upcycle graphite from biomass. The related course of applied sciences are all developed in-house,” Dr. Rezal explains.
Such an method reduces dependency on imports whereas aligning with world local weather objectives. Nonetheless, scaling up requires important capital. “The subsequent essential step can be securing investments to fund the scale-up actions,” he notes.
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A possible pitfall lies in repeating previous errors. “Having noticed the way in which how the photo voltaic panel {industry} had developed in Malaysia, unchecked market entry of international gamers and applied sciences within the home battery market could stifle the deployment of native improvements,” Dr. Rezal warns.
He believes the answer is a cautious mixture of incentives: “There’s a must strike a stability between FDI-centric industrial improvement and incentivising and activating home direct investments to assist the commercialisation of home-grown batteries.”
His most popular method, dubbed the “Construct Some, Purchase Some” philosophy, emphasises parity between imported and native vitality storage elements.
Looking forward to 2026
The way forward for Malaysia’s battery {industry} could not revolve round lithium alone. “We’re trying forward in growing new battery chemistries based mostly on aluminium and sodium ions to scale back dependency on world lithium provide chain,” Dr. Rezal says.
Different promising avenues embody solid-state electrolytes and nanomaterials that would enhance vitality density, reliability, and security. In the meantime, government-backed initiatives corresponding to EMERGE (Enabling Mobility Electrification for Inexperienced Financial system) and the approval of the ICE-to-EV conversion white paper in 2024 underscore Malaysia’s dedication to growing vital EV applied sciences.
By 2026, Dr. Rezal expects a number of industry-shaping shifts.
“Additional drop in battery costs by way of USD/kWh because of over-supply of LFP batteries available in the market, better deployment of batteries (BESS) for renewables, a rise in localisation of producing and re-emergence of curiosity in NMC battery chemistry with improved vitality density, capability retention, reliability and security.”
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Picture Credit score: Dr. Rezal Khairi Bin Ahmad
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