Hydrogen energy industry is a huge industrial chain from hydrogen production, storage and transportation to application. Hydrogen energy not only is energy of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle transportation, but also plays important roles in large-scale energy storage and green chemical raw materials. Coal gasification to hydrogen is an important component of hydrogen energy industrial chain. ASIACHEM research indicates that, China leading coal chemical enterprises actively distribute on the hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry, and co-share hydrogen energy industrial chain CNY-hundred-billion-level market.
China Energy Investment Corporation (CHN Energy)
Jan 2019, LING Wen, Member of the Board and GM of CHN Energy, stated that, hydrogen energy development and utilization is an important direction of energy clean development. Before, in Oct 2018, reports released by China Hydrogen Energy Alliance, which led and organized by CHN Energy, believed that hydrogen energy should reach at least 10% in China terminal energy system in the future, coordinated and complemented with electric power, and co-become consumption subject of China terminal energy system.
Nov 2018, Shenhua Rugao Hydrogen Refueling Station was construction. Before, in Mar 2018, Air Products announced that, it has signed agreements with Shenhua New Energy, holding company of CHN Energy, would provide its new-built hydrogen refueling station in Jiangsu Rugao with 2 hydrogen refueling machines.
Data shows that, CHN Energy coal chemical sector annual produces more than 4Mt hydrogen, has hydrogen production capacity which can supply 40M fuel cell passenger used vehicles, ranks No.1 in the world.
Yancon Group Co. Ltd. (Yancon)
Jan 2019, Yancon and Wuhan Hynertech signed cooperation framework agreement, both parties will launch deep cooperation on hydrogen energy industry.
Jan 4, 2019, Yancon signed cooperation framework agreement with Air Liquide. According to the agreement, both parties will rely on Yancon coal gasification to hydrogen production technology and hydrogen resources advantage, give full play to Air Liquide’s advantages on construction and operation of hydrogen energy infrastructures, innovate ways of cooperation, formulate Shandong hydrogen energy infrastructures and fuel cell vehicles implementation plans, invest hydrogen energy industrial chain in Shandong, develop complete hydrogen energy ecological industrial chain, construct sustainable, economic and reasonable hydrogen energy infrastructure network, and co-promote hydrogen energy and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle solution of Shandong.
On the same day, Shandong Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Industry Alliance, which led and organized by Yancon and Weichai Power etc. state-owned enterprises of Shandong, established in Jinan, Shandong. As initiator of Alliance, LI Xiyong, chairman of Yancon revealed that, ‘Yancon has formulated Hydrogen Energy Industry 3-year Action Plans, focusing on hydrogen energy, methanol, synthesis gas and fuel cell power generation technology etc. fields, constructing intelligent hydrogen energy industrial chain.’
Information shows that, Yancon started implementing Hydrogen Energy Industry 3-year Action Plans since beginning of 2018, and brought hydrogen energy into the enterprise development strategy, formulated plans to explore purification, storage and transportation of hydrogen energy and planning hydrogen energy use demonstration zones. Nov 2018, Yancon signed <Letter of Intent for Cooperation in Hydrogen Energy Utilization> (LOI) with Taihe Commercial (Japan) and International Energy and Environmental Protection Promotion Society (Japan).
Datong Coal Mine Group Co., Ltd. (Datong Coal)
Jan 2019, Shanxi Datong 2019 Major Breakthrough Engineering Actions Mobilization Conference was held. The Conference confirmed 12 major breakthrough engineering promoting energy revolution to develop in depth. Among, Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Engineering pointed out: Datong Coal 5000t/a Coal to Hydrogen project construction.
Shanxi Lu’an Mining Group Co. Ltd. (Lu’an Group)
Jan 2019, Shanxi Province Science and Technology major project – low cost and high efficiency hydrogen fuel cell key technology and engineering demonstration project start-up. Information shows that, the project was led by Lu’an Group.
The project will rely on Shanxi Province abundant hydrogen energy resources, launch low cost, high energy efficiency hydrogen fuel PEMFC power system key technologies R&D, and realize hydrogen fuel cell system industrialization application demonstration; solve PEMFC performance, life and cost etc. key problems, realize demonstration operation and popularization application of PEMFC vehicles.
Oct 2018, Lu’an Group and Aspens GmbH held project cooperation signing ceremony. Both parties co-signed <Cooperation Agreement on Ultra-pure Hydrogen Extraction Technology> and <Technology Licensing & Technology Service Agreement on Hydrogen Fuel Cell Production Project> etc.
Information shows that, Aspens GmbH has world leading technologies on hydrogen production, purification, storage and energy conversion, main businesses are ultra-pure hydrogen extraction, high energy density hydrogen fuel cell and ultra-pure hydrogen industry comprehensive utilization and continues R&D low energy consumption and high efficiency hydrogen energy utilization technologies, customizes solution to development of different energy structures.
Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co. Ltd. (Yangquan Coal)
Jun 2018, Yangquan Coal and Taiyuan University of Technology held co-construct R&D center unveiling ceremony.
Information shows that, this joint R&D center divides into several professional research institutes. Advance establish hydrogen energy cell joint research institute and coal-based derivative chemical products research institute. Among, research directions of hydrogen energy cell joint research institute are preparation of high stable low-noble metal / non-noble metal catalyst, high energy efficiency hydrogen energy cell stack structure construction optimization and product industrialization.
ASIACHEM <China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Annual Report 2018> believes that, coal chemical enterprises have below advantages on hydrogen energy industrial chain.
1) China coal resources reserve is abundant
<China Mineral Resources 2018> data shows that, in 2017, China coal identified resource reserve is 1666.673Bt, YOY increase 4.3%. <BP Statistical Review of World Energy (2018)> data shows that, in China’s primary energy of 2017, coal occupies 61%. These also decide at present and quite a long period of time in the future, China hydrogen source mainly is coal to hydrogen.
2) Coal gasification to hydrogen development is matured
After many years’ development, coal gasification has become one of main technologies of coal deep processing. <China Hydrogen Energy Industry Infrastructure Development Blue Book (2018)> data shows that, in 2016, China hydrogen production was about 21Mt and coal to hydrogen occupies 62%. ASIACHEM <China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Annual Report 2018> research indicates that, since 2010, China totally has 17 new built and have specific operation years’ large-scale refineries coal / petrol coke to hydrogen projects, these projects totally have 1.825Mt byproduct hydrogen by 2022. Besides, ASIACHEM data shows that, among 15 refinery-chemical integration projects which are planning to construct, 11 has confirmed to use coal gasification to hydrogen technology.
ASIACHEM believes that, although coal gasification to hydrogen has advantages of large scaled, matured technology, high pressure and raw material easy to obtain etc., new built coal gasification to hydrogen device which is special used for supplying hydrogen to FCV is not feasible. Reasons are as below.
1. Demonstration operation of fuel cell vehicles more locates in East China, where the economic is developed, and these places do not have new increase coal use quota. Thus, new built coal to hydrogen devices are hardly to obtain approvals.
2. Coal to hydrogen needs to reach economics scale to decrease costs. Typical dry powder coal gasification device coal throughout is 2000t/d and effective synthesis gas (CO+H2) capacity reaches 120Km3/h. Coal to hydrogen capacity is too huge for the demonstration operation of fuel cell vehicles in near stage.
Thus, ASIACHEM comes up with concept of coal chemical byproduct hydrogen base on current existed coal chemical devices, which is: Do not new-built coal gasification gasfiers, but base on current coal gasification to chemical projects, extracting hydrogen from part of synthesis gas to new increase a high valued byproduct to coal chemical devices.
ASIACHEM believes that, coal chemical byproduct hydrogen has advantages as below:
1. Flexible scale. Hydrogen extraction device base on PSA technology, scales can be flexible designed to suit changes of market requirement.
2. Less investment. Constructing byproduct hydrogen project base on current existed coal chemical devices, if byproduct hydrogen scale is quite small, it only needs to slightly change loads of gasifiers and shifting devices, which almost does not influence production of original chemical devices.
3. Hydrogen sources distribution is wide and the resources potential is huge. China coal chemical industry has 1000 operation gasifiers and synthesis gas total amount exceeds 30Mm3/h and widely distributed in each area of China, can provide powerful support for scaled demonstration operation of fuel cell vehicles in each area.
