Singapore: Malaysia's Science and Technology Minister Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin said that by 2020, the country will be Asia's biggest biogas exporter and is poised to become Asia's biggest biogas hub by 2030.

Speaking at the fourth Biogas Asia Pacific Forum 2015, Dr Ebin emphasized that Malaysia had the potential to effectively utilize its biogas resources to be at the epicenter of bioindustrial ecosystem.

Dr Ebin said, "Currently, we have about five million hectares of land under oil palm, so by 2020, we will be able to increase revenue to about RM20 billion. The aim is to show the viability in upgrading biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME) to bio-methane, which can be used to fuel cars or other industrial applications."

Malaysia's leading biotech company, BiotechCorp, has stepped forward to spearhead the development of biogas. The company's chief executive Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal, said, "Under the Bioeconomy Transformation Program, with projects to convert wastes in the form of POME into high value-added green energy, we are enhancing renewable energy resources to contribute towards the national electricity supply."

The three-day forum witnessed the exchange of documents between Gas Malaysia Bhd, Sime Darby Offshore Engineering Sdn Bhd, Megagreen Energy Sdn Bhd, Technology Nasional Bhd, Felcra Bhd, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd, and Green and Smart Sdn Bhd.