Green Hydrogen Village
A community- driven clean energy transition model for rural & coastal areas
Building energy resiliency to Bali's coastal communities through open, accessible, and safe green hydrogen innovation - blending applied research and community development for clean energy communities and ecosystem regeneration.
Project Type
Community development and applied research project funded by ViriyaENB.
Project Duration
Multiyear (1-10 years)
Areas of Intervention
Energy Futures, Waste Management, New Learning models, Ancient-Future Technology, Alternative Materials
The Challenge
Bali’s coastal communities face escalating climate risks and limited access to sustainable energy solutions.
The Solution
An integrated innovation ecosystem promoting sustainable energy solutions, local empowerment, and environmental regeneration through community-driven innovation and future-ready skill development.
The Project
Green Hydrogen Village (Desa Hidrogen Hijau) aims to bring closer to local communities in Bali the potential of alternative sources of energy that can stimulate the local economy while recovering natural ecosystems and building new skills in digital technologies and innovation.
The Hydrogen Village is a multi-year project involving a mixed group of local and international researchers and innovators coming from different backgrounds such as design, digital fabrication, engineering, biology, as well with long term experience in development of projects and programs internationally. The project is an initiative by CAST Foundation, Meaningful Design Group, and Fab Lab Bali.
Background
Indonesia’s Energy Reality
Indonesia relies on fossil fuels for 86% of its electricity, making it one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters. The country has bold renewable energy targets (Net Zero by 2060), but rural and coastal communities like most villages in Bali are often overlooked in the transition, even though they would be the first to be directly impacted climate crisis, and Desa Serangan is one of them.
The Gap
A Community-driven Energy Transition Model
It is crucial more than ever to adopt sustainable approaches for decarbonization projects in the country that is equitable and affordable to all - without creating negative environmental impacts and forced displacement of indigenous communities. Without meaningful intervention, Serangan faces growing climate risks and exclusion from the clean energy transition.
To bridge this gap, Green Hydrogen Village aims to grow a community-driven, and clean energy transition model, that not only builds local climate resilience, nurture future-ready skills, and scalable, but also explores hydrogen innovation that are:
- Open-sourced and distributed
- Frugal and accessible
- Safe and responsible
- Bottom-up approach and direct grassroot implementation.
The Opportunity
Imagining Pathways to the Cleanest Energy Futures
Bali is surrounded with 633.35 km coastline of vast ocean and a generous solar exposure of average radiation intensity about 4.8 kWh/m2 a day.
Green Hydrogen emerges as the most fitting choice as hydrogen fuel cells, characterized by their superior energy density, reduced weight, and extended lifespan compared to lithium batteries. It presents heightened range potential and enhanced load-carrying capacity (hydrogen fuel 142 mj/kg > lithium batteries generally no more than 1.8 mj/kg).
How we do it
A Meaningful Design Approach
It is crucial more than ever to adopt sustainable approaches for decarbonization projects in the country that is equitable and affordable to all - without creating negative environmental impacts and forced displacement of indigenous communities. Yet, the production of green hydrogen is still not cost-competitive and is not grounded for underrepresented communities, particularly in coastal areas of Indonesia, which would highly benefit from its implementation.
Meaningful Design Strategies
Exploring the meeting point of culture, arts, science, and technology to create situated meaningful interventions
Grassroot Approach to New Tech Adoption
Exploring community-based strategies for new technology adoption in renewable energy and ecological well-being
Distributed Model for Net Zero Innovations
Exploring distributed innovations framework towards net-zero communities, starting from the village scale
Partners
Connect with Us!
Whether you are interested in joining our programs, looking to collaborate with us, or want to get to know us: