China Completes its First PV Green Hydrogen Project
China’s first 10,000-ton photovoltaic green hydrogen pilot project has now been put into production after construction was completed by China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec).
The Sinopec Xinjiang Kuqa Green Hydrogen Pilot Project, which will produce 20,000 tons of green hydrogen per year at full capacity, is the country’s first large-scale utilization of photovoltaic power generation to produce green hydrogen directly.
Green hydrogen produced at the site will supply Sinopec Tahe Petrochemical, replacing the fossil fuels currently being used to produce hydrogen and enabling a low-carbon development of modern oil processing and green hydrogen coupling.
As the first scaled application of green hydrogen refining, the project is projected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 485,000 tons a year.
The project also features an electrolyzed water hydrogen plant with an annual capacity of 20,000 tons, a spherical hydrogen storage tank with a hydrogen storage capacity of 210,000 standard cubic meters, and hydrogen transmission pipelines with a capacity of 28,000 standard cubic meters per hour.
Sinopec’s hydrogen development points towards a focus on hydrogen transportation and green hydrogen refining, as the corporation have established over 100 hydrogen refuelling stations and currently own and operate the largest number of hydrogen refuelling stations globally.
Further projects are on the horizon, with the Ulanqab project in the planning stages, and a green hydrogen project in Ordos, which began construction in February, set produce 30,000 tons annually.
