As China strives to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, the application of green hydrogen is recognized as an important way to achieve carbon reduction. Hydrogen from electrolytic water can be used for energy storage to receive intermittent electricity generated from renewable energy sources; hydrogen can be used as a feedstock in power generation, chemicals, steel and transportation. However, hydrogen energy can only contribute to the global economy's goal of sustainable decarbonization if carbon emissions are minimized in the production chain of hydrogen, i.e., if green hydrogen is produced.
According to the incomplete statistics of ASIACHEM Consulting, from January to July 2022, China's green hydrogen projects have shown a spurt, with more than 50 new projects and nearly 70 projects with a total investment of nearly 150 billion yuan. 40 companies have laid out green hydrogen projects one after another, with China Energy, Huaneng Group, SPIC, Hebei Construction and Investment, Sinopec, Beijing Energy, Three Gorges Group, Huadian Group, CEEC, Zhongzhi Tiangong and Shenzhen Energy, 11 companies took up nearly 60% of the 70 projects. Besides the above-mentioned energy and chemical companies, equipment companies such as Sungrow, Saikesaisi and Shouhang High Tech, logistics companies such as Qingzhuangshangzheng, and coal chemical companies such as Pingmei Shenma have also entered the green hydrogen industry one after another.
As a leading research institute in the hydrogen energy industry, ASIACHEM Consulting takes stock of the latest progress of green hydrogen projects under construction and planned expansion projects in China in 2022 as follows. (Note: Completed projects are not included in the statistics of this article. (Note: Completed projects are not included in this article, and the 2022 expansion projects may not be put into production in 2022)
China Energy: Hydrogen production scale 131MW
Zhangjiakou Shangyi PV and Wind Power Coupling Hydrogen Production Technology Demonstration Project. The construction site is located at about 11km north west of Zhangjiakou Shangyi County. The project is to build a single 1200Nm3/h power hydrogen production equipment, 2MW PV, wind power 35kV line lead, 1MWh energy storage and the corresponding hydrogen production ancillary buildings and structures, with an investment of 120.93 million RMB.
Fengning PV / wind power / hydrogen / energy storage 1 million kilowatts project. The total scale of the project is 4000Nm3/h, including 2000Nm3/h for the first phase and 2000Nm3/h for the second phase, and the land area is about 50 mu (the final area is subject to the survey and demarcation). The main equipment of the project includes electrolysis tank, separation unit, purification unit charging unit and other auxiliary equipment. It adopts the domestic advanced hydrogen production process of water electrolysis to produce hydrogen. After removing a small amount of oxygen from the hydrogen under the action of catalyst, it enters the hydrogen buffer tank and is charged to the long tube trailer by the diaphragm compressor to supply hydrogen to the hydrogen refueling station and various industrial users with an investment of 155.89 million RMB.
Renewable Hydrogen Carbon Emission Reduction Demonstration Project. The project has an installed capacity of 120,000 kilowatts of renewable energy and proposes to build a hydrogen production station outside the mining area of Meihuajing coal mine in the south and a hydrogen production station in the coal chemical park in the north, with the total scale of hydrogen production of 20,000 Nm3/h. The main power supply for hydrogen production is supplied by the supporting 100MWp photovoltaic, and the neighboring 500MWp photovoltaic is used to guarantee the power supply for the project in order to improve the equipment utilization rate. The investment amount of the project is 43,000,000 Yuan.
Huaneng Group: Hydrogen production scale 101.25MW
The "500MW PV / wind power / hydrogen / energy storage" Integrated Economic Demonstration (Phase I) 200MW Project. The project will build a new hydrogen production station and supporting facilities, equipped with mainstream electrolyzer equipment in the market, with a hydrogen production capacity of 8000 tons/year. The power of each 1000Nm³/h electrolyzer is 4500kW, and the auxiliary engine is 500kW, with an investment of 30,000,000 RMB.
Changli Photovoltaic Power Generation Project. The project adopts the form of complementary agriculture and PV, constructs an 80MW PV power station and related supporting facilities, and configures 250Nm3/h hydrogen production, with an investment of 50 million RMB.
Huaneng Lanzhou New Area Urban Smart Energy Island Synergistic Coupling Project. The project planning and construction includes 8 parts: 2×350MW cogeneration project, 200,000kW PV, 200,000kW wind power, renewable energy hydrogen production coupling, new energy parking lot charging pile coupling, sludge blending coupling, liquid sunlight coupling, and regional level comprehensive energy control center.
SPIC: Hydrogen production scale 235MW
Wind and PV to hydrogen production and green flexible integration project. 2022 June project start, the project is invested and built by SPIC and Tsinghua Strait Institute, and Intelligent Energy (State Nuclear Power Institute) is the lead EPC contractor. The project mainly includes 200MW wind power and 200MW photovoltaic, with an estimated annual power generation of 1.25 billion kWh; the use of scenery electrolysis to produce hydrogen, with an annual production of 17,800 tons of hydrogen; and then the synthesis of hydrogen and nitrogen as raw materials with an annual production of 100,000 tons of liquid ammonia products. The project investment is expected to be 300,000,000 Yuan.
Laiyuan County SPIC 300,000 kilowatts of photovoltaic + hydrogen production project. The project planning includes 300,000 kilowatts of photovoltaic and an electrolytic water hydrogen production plant, the scale of hydrogen production in the first phase is 800kg/day, the project investment is 150,000,000 RMB.
40MW green power hydrogen production project. The project will carry out site selection, investment and engineering construction of distributed photovoltaic power plants in government industrial and commercial areas in the city, with a total capacity of 40MW and hydrogen production capacity of not less than 1000m³/h, with an investment of 160,000,000 RMB.
Hebei Construction Investment: Hydrogen production scale 25MW
Zhangjiakou wind power and photovoltaic power generation comprehensive utilization (hydrogen production) demonstration project. The project will install 1.3 million kilowatts of wind power and 700,000 kilowatts of photoelectricity in Kangbao County, and will be accompanied by hydrogen production related facilities, with an investment of 255.258 million.
The hydrogen production project of wind power in Daxigou, Weichang. The hydrogen production station project is mainly to produce hydrogen by electrolysis of water using valley electricity. In the first phase, 1×800Nm3/h medium-pressure water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment is to be built, together with the corresponding auxiliary equipment. In the second phase, 1200 Nm3/h medium-pressure water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment is to be built, with an investment of RMB 724.32 million.
Sinopec: Hydrogen production scale 242.5MW
In November 2021, Sinopec held a cloud launch ceremony in Beijing, Urumqi and Kuche, Xinjiang to announce the start of construction of Sinopec Xinjiang Kuche Green Hydrogen Demonstration Project, China's first 10,000-ton photovoltaic green hydrogen demonstration project.
The project mainly includes five major parts: photovoltaic power generation, power transmission, electrolytic water hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and hydrogen transmission. The project will build a new photovoltaic power plant with an installed capacity of 300 MW and an average annual power generation capacity of 618 million kWh, an electrolytic water hydrogen production plant with an annual capacity of 20,000 tons, a hydrogen storage spherical tank with a hydrogen storage capacity of 210,000 standard cubic meters, a hydrogen transmission pipeline with a hydrogen transmission capacity of 28,000 standard cubic meters per hour and supporting transmission and substation facilities. The project is expected to be completed and put into operation in June 2023, and the green hydrogen produced will be supplied to Sinopec Tahe Refinery to replace the existing natural gas fossil energy hydrogen production. It is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emission by 485,000 tons per year, and will contribute 130 million yuan to the local GDP and create more than 18 million yuan of tax revenue per year, with an investment of 300,000,000 yuan in the project.
Zhongyuan Oilfield megawatt-scale electrolytic water to hydrogen demonstration project. This project is led by Zhongyuan Oilfield, with Dalian Petrochemical Research Institute, Guangzhou Engineering Co., Ltd. and Qingdao Safety Engineering Research Institute, and is expected to be completed and put into operation in September 2022. The project uses proton membrane electrolytic water to produce hydrogen without any pollutant emission, and the equipment can be turned on and off at any time, which is convenient for local consumption of renewable green power with strong fluctuation such as wind power and photovoltaic power generation. The electrolysis power of the project is 2.5 MW, producing 1.12 tons of ultra-pure hydrogen a day with a purity of 99.9995%. Compared with alkaline water electrolysis for hydrogen production, the project can save 1 kWh of electricity for every 1 cubic meter of standard hydrogen produced. The investment of the project is 50.81 million RMB.
Beijing Energy Grup：Hydrogen production scale 17.5MW
Yi County Hydrogen Energy Integration Comprehensive Energy Demonstration Project. The first phase of the project covers an area of 40 mu, with a designed hydrogen production capacity of 2000 Nm³/h (about 2 tons/day of hydrogen production capacity) to meet the demand for hydrogen for the "easy line" fuel cell heavy trucks; the second phase of the project will be built according to the demand for hydrogen energy in the surrounding areas and produce green hydrogen, with an estimated annual hydrogen production capacity of 7300 tons. The goal of this project is to build the largest renewable energy electrolytic water hydrogen production base in the Beijing-Xiongbao region. 32,000,000 Yuan.
1500MW "PV, wind power, thermal power generation, hydrogen, energy storage and integration" large wind power and photovoltaic base project. The construction period is 36 months and the operation period is 20 years. 1500MW of wind power is planned to be built, 150MW/2MWh of energy storage is configured, 55MWp of distributed photovoltaic project is built at the same time, and 2 sets of 10Nm3/h, 3.2MPa medium pressure water electrolysis hydrogen production devices are used to realize 28,000Nm3 of new energy annual hydrogen production.
On April 15, 2022, Beijing Energy Chagannaoer PV / wind power / thermal power generation / hydrogen / energy storage Integration Demonstration Project started the construction of hydrogen energy project, which is planned to build a total hydrogen production, processing and use capacity of not less than 2000Nm3/h. The project will be implemented in phases, with one 500Nm3/h hydrogen production station and 500kg/d hydrogen processing station in Chagannaoer Power Plant. 1 hydrogen production station and 500kg/12h skid-mounted hydrogen refueling station will be built in Xilinhot, and hydrogen scenarios for heavy trucks, public transportation and distributed combined heat and power supply will be set up in industry, municipalities and people's livelihood at the same time, and the second phase will be launched in due course according to the development of hydrogen application scenarios. The investment amount of the project is 350,000,000 RMB.
Three Gorges Group: Hydrogen production scale 122MW
Narisong Photovoltaic Hydrogen Production Industry Demonstration Project. Ordos Zhungeer Banner Narisong PV Hydrogen Industry Demonstration Project is located in Zhungeer Banner, Ordos, with 400,000 kilowatts of PV, 10,000 tons/year of hydrogen production from electrolytic water, 8-10 35MPa hydrogen refueling stations and 500 hydrogen heavy trucks. The investment amount of the project is RMB 283 million.
"Power, grid, load and energy storage Integration" Demonstration Project. The project is located in the territory of Siziwang Banner, Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia, with a construction scale of 2 million kilowatts, including 1.7 million kilowatts of wind power, 300,000 kilowatts of photovoltaic, and 550,000 kilowatts x 2 hours of energy storage. The project is divided into three phases, with four integrated boosting and storage stations and one intelligent joint control center. At present, the first phase of 500,000 kilowatts has been connected to the grid on December 31, 2021 with full capacity of scenery, including 425,000 kilowatts of wind power and 75,000 kilowatts of photovoltaic. Phase I configuration of 140,000 kW x 2 hours of energy storage, now has been commissioned, the end of grid testing, waiting for grid connection. The second and third phases are planned to start in June, and the full capacity will be delivered to the grid at the end of the year. The project investment is 171,000,000 RMB.
Yangtze River Power Green Power Green Hydrogen Demonstration Project. The project adopts the construction mode of hydrogen production and hydrogen refueling integrated station, and constructs one hydrogen production and hydrogen refueling station in Yangjiawan terminal on the right bank of Three Gorges Dam area, with hydrogen production scale of 200Nm3/h and hydrogen refueling scale of 500kg/d. The project investment amount is 46.18 million Yuan.
Huadian Group: Hydrogen production scale 97MW
200,000kw new energy hydrogen production demonstration project. The construction scale of the project is 200mw of installed capacity, including 120mw of new wind power generation, 24 sets of 5000kw wind turbines, a 220kv booster station, 80mw of photovoltaic power generation and 20mw/20mwh of energy storage, and the construction of hydrogen production industry with 7800 tons of green hydrogen per year, as well as the corresponding supporting auxiliary production facilities. The investment amount of the project is 80,000,000 RMB.
Qinghai Huadian Delingha West Export PV Hydrogen Production Project. The construction unit of this project is China Huadian Group Qinghai Branch, the project planning land area is 22.5km2, the total scale of the project is 5 million kilowatts of photovoltaic hydrogen storage integration demonstration base, the first phase planning to build 1 million kilowatts of photovoltaic, supporting 20% of energy storage, and the simultaneous construction of 600Nm3/h (about 3MW) of photovoltaic hydrogen production demonstration project. The investment amount of the project is 590,000,000 Yuan.
CEEC: Hydrogen production scale 20MW
PV / wind power / hydrogen / energy storage integration project. This project is one of the first compressed air energy storage projects with the largest single set of capacity in China, including the construction of 300 MW compressed air energy storage power plant along with 900 MW wind power generation, 300 MW photovoltaic power generation, and 2×500 Nm/h electrolytic water hydrogen production project. The investment amount is 102,000,000 Yuan.
PV / wind power / hydrogen / energy storage integration project in abandoned mining area of Xing'an League. The project plans to invest in wind power, PV, storage and hydrogen integration project in the abandoned mining area of Keyouzhong Banner of Xing'an League, planning to build 900 MW wind power + 300 MW PV + 200 MW/800 MWh compressed air storage + 2×500 standard cubic meters/hour electrolytic water hydrogen production project. The project investment is expected to be 750,000,000 Yuan.
CNPC: Hydrogen production scale 50MW
Yumen Oilfield Photovoltaic Hydrogen Production Project. The project is located in the old urban area of Yumen City, Gansu Province, and the construction mainly includes solar photovoltaic power generation modules divided into No.1 and No.2 photovoltaic fields, of which No.1 photovoltaic field has an installed capacity of 100MWp for hydrogen production by electrolysis and No.2 photovoltaic field has an installed capacity of 60MWp for photovoltaic power generation, with a total installed capacity of 160MWp and an annual average power generation capacity of 277,556.9MWh. 10 sets of 1000Nm3/h water electrolysis hydrogen production units, producing 87.6 million Nm3 of hydrogen per year, and matching the construction of hydrogen compressor room, power distribution room, hydrogen production laboratory and storage tank area. The investment amount of the project is 145 million RMB.
Shell: Hydrogen production scale 20MW
Hydrogen Energy Integration Demonstration Base Construction Project. 28 January 2022, one of the world's largest electrolytic water hydrogen production units, the Green Hydrogen Energy Integration Demonstration Base Project, was put into operation in Qiaodong District, Zhangjiakou City. The project, which started construction in June 2021, will build an integrated hydrogen energy industry chain including hydrogen production, storage, transportation, refilling and application, constructing a hydrogen production system, a hydrogen compression and filling system and a liquid oxygen production and filling system, with a hydrogen production capacity of 4,000 standard cubic meters per hour. After the commissioning, the daily hydrogen production capacity will be 8 tons and the annual hydrogen production capacity will be 2800 tons, which will supply hydrogen for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Zhangjiakou area of Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The investment amount of the project is 20,000,000 RMB.
Shenzhen Energy Group: Hydrogen production scale 77MW
Shanghai Miao Economic Development Zone Photovoltaic Hydrogen Production Project. The project will be started in December 2021, mainly constructing a 250 MW PV power station, a 110 kW booster station, a 110 kW switching station, three 110 kW lines, a comprehensive building and other related facilities, and an integrated hydrogen production and processing station and corresponding hydrogen energy storage and transportation equipment, with an annual hydrogen production capacity of 6,000 tons. The investment amount is 162,000,000 Yuan.
Kulle Green Hydrogen Production, Storage and Addition Integration Project. The Kullu Green Hydrogen Production, Storage and Refueling Integrated Demonstration Project covers the whole closed-loop application scenario of off-grid photovoltaic power generation, hydrogen storage, refueling, heavy trucks and combined heat and power supply, and will initially build a 6MW photovoltaic power station with two 500Nm3/h hydrogen production systems, a hydrogen refueling station with 500Kg/d refueling capacity, 20 (first batch) 49T hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks and a 200kW hydrogen fuel cell combined heat and power unit. The project investment is estimated to be 36,000,000 RMB.
China Coal Group: Hydrogen production scale 240MW
Annual output of 100,000 tons of liquid sunshine project. The technology of this project is considered to adopt the liquid sunshine technology developed by DICP, and the technology level can fully reach the international advanced level. Project installation scale: 600MW wind power generation plant (200MW wind power installation, 400MW photovoltaic installation); 20,000 tons/year electrolytic water hydrogen production and hydrogen storage plant; 100,000 tons/year carbon dioxide plus green hydrogen methanol production plant and 150,000 tons/year carbon dioxide capture refining plant. The annual operation is 8000 hours and the project construction period is 24 months. The project investment amount is 493,400,000 RMB.
Qingzhuangshangzheng (Haidong) Logistics Technology Co., Ltd: Hydrogen Production Scale 7.5MW
Qingzhuangshangzheng Carbon Neutral IOT Industrial Park Project. It focuses on building hydrogen oil and electricity super energy center, renewable energy hydrogen production base and intelligent cloud warehouse, and will put 600 hydrogen energy logistics vehicles. It will drive the hydrogen energy industry chain cluster with renewable energy - green hydrogen power, empower green logistics with hydrogen energy technology, and promote the industry to clean and zero carbon development. After the project is completed, the annual green power hydrogen production will reach 1,070 tons. The project investment is 120,000,000 RMB.
Saikesaisi: Hydrogen production scale 2MW
Saikesaisi Green Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park Project. After the completion of the project, the annual consumption of photovoltaic power generation is 4800 MW, and the annual production and storage of hydrogen is 100 tons. The investment amount of the project is 15,000,000 RMB.
Shouhang Hi-Tech: Hydrogen production scale 5MW
Photovoltaic to hydrogen integrated energy storage demonstration project. The project covers an area of 330 mu, constructs a 1000Nm3/h alkaline electrolytic water hydrogen production system, supporting the construction of a 6MW intelligent photovoltaic power generation system (no grid connection, only hydrogen production), converts photovoltaic power generation directly into hydrogen, the power consumption of the electrolytic hydrogen production system is 5MW, constructs a 1MW/2MWh non-supplemental combustion compressed air energy storage system, during the time of high power generation load and long power generation time Cooperate with the hydrogen production and storage system for energy storage; build a 6000Nm3 fixed high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage tank with a capacity of 400m3. the project investment is 63 million RMB.
Grandblue Environment: Hydrogen production scale 27MW
Grandblue Environment Biogas to Hydrogen Project. The design scale is about 2,200 tons of hydrogen production per year, and 2,400 tons of biogas are needed per year, and the hydrogen production capacity can be expanded with the subsequent expansion of the industrial park. The investment amount of the project is 92 million RMB.
Guangdong No.2 Hydropower:
New Energy Power Generation Project in Weining County. The proposed construction scale of distributed photovoltaic projects in the project is about 50,000 kilowatts, with a total investment of about 300 million yuan; the centralized photovoltaic power generation project is 800,000 kilowatts (photovoltaic + agriculture, farming, hydrogen production, energy storage, etc.), and the wind power generation project is 200,000 kilowatts, with a total investment of about 6 billion yuan. The project investment amount is 630,000,000 Yuan.
