Two green hydrogen projects totaling 30,000 mt/year of capacity start up in China

Two renewables-based hydrogen projects are starting operations in China's northwest Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia provinces, with combined annual hydrogen production capacity of 30,000 mt/year, project developers Sinopec and Three Gorges Corporation said in statements published June 29-30.

Both projects will utilize solar photovoltaic power to electrolyze water and produce green hydrogen. According to the nation's broad decarbonization plan, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang will be developed into giant solar PV and wind power hubs, transmitting green electricity to provinces across the nation in the upcoming decades.

The two large-scale renewable hydrogen projects deepen China's role as a renewable energy giant.

To put the 30,000 mt/year capacity into context, in 2022, 307 MW of electrolyzers were installed globally, which translated into 40,000 mt of hydrogen produced annually from water electrolysis, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

Among the 307 MW capacity added in 2022, 224 MW were contributed by China and 83 MW by the rest of the world, SPGCI statistics showed.

The Xinjiang project

Sinopec's project, located in Kuqa, Xinjiang, is a pilot to construct an entire value chain for green hydrogen, from renewable power generation, hydrogen production from water electrolysis, hydrogen storage, transmission and utilization by the refining facilities, the company said in the statement.

Sinopec, as a leading state-owned oil group, is widely recognized as a central plank in China's bid to scale up its hydrogen industry, enabling the nation's oil and gas industry to transform to a net-zero era.

The project will deliver 20,000 mt/year of green hydrogen, which will be transmitted through pipelines to Sinopec's nearby refining facilities in Tahe County. Hydrogen previously used at the refining site was produced from natural gas, and the substitution with green hydrogen will result in a 485,000 mt/year of CO2 emissions reduction, Sinopec said.

Major equipment and core materials used in the project were all manufactured domestically, such as solar PV modules, electrolyzers, hydrogen storage tanks, and hydrogen transmission pipelines, Sinopec emphasized.

"Before this project was initiated, the domestic demand for electrolyzers of 1,000 Nm³/h capacity was below 30, while our project alone needed 52 electrolyzers of that scale. Hence, the project significantly facilitates the domestic electrolyzer manufacturing capacity to scale up," the company said in the statement.

Inner Mongolia projects

Three Gorges' project, located in Narisong, Inner Mongolia, utilized coal mining backfill areas to construct solar PV plants with 740 million kWh of electricity outputs, 80% of which will be used to produce hydrogen, which translated into 10,000 mt/year of green hydrogen output, the company said.

Three Gorges is also a state-owned giant in the renewable power sector, initially established to support the nation's hydropower plant construction and management. The company has now expanded its business areas into development and management of other types of renewable projects.

The green hydrogen produced from this project, as well as the byproduct oxygen, will mainly be utilized in the chemicals and transportation sectors, according to the statement, adding that 15 electrolyzers of 1,000 Nm³/h capacity were installed for this project to support green hydrogen production.

The project was co-funded by Inner Mongolia's Manshi Investment Group, Three Gorges said.