Sinopec, China’s leading energy company, has proudly announced the successful operation of the nation’s first 10,000-ton green hydrogen demonstration project. The milestone achievement marks a significant step towards realizing the complete industrial chain integration of a 10,000-ton green hydrogen refinery project in China.
The groundbreaking project, designed to produce green hydrogen directly from renewable sources such as solar and wind power, has accomplished the entire process from production to utilization. The output hydrogen is being piped to local petroleum refining enterprises, effectively replacing the use of existing natural gas fossil energy as a power source.
With an impressive production capacity of 20,000 metric tons of hydrogen per year, the project serves as China’s pioneering 10,000-ton photovoltaic green hydrogen demonstration initiative. It stands as a shining example for the development of the green hydrogen industry and PV-based hydrogen production, showcasing replicable and promotable demonstration capabilities worldwide.
LONGi Hydrogen, a leading provider of large-scale electrolyzer and green hydrogen production solutions, secured the bid for this groundbreaking project in May 2022. Employing 16 sets of LONGi Hydrogen’s 1000Nm³/h electrolyzer, the project proudly introduced the innovative “4 to 1” system of four electrolyzers with one gas-liquid separation skid for enhanced efficiency.
The comprehensive construction of Sinopec’s green hydrogen demonstration project encompasses various key components, including photovoltaic power generation, transmission and transformation lines, water electrolysis, hydrogen storage and transmission, and auxiliary production facilities. Notably, the project boasts an annual hydrogen production capacity of 20,000 tons, hydrogen storage capacity of 210,000 standard cubic meters, and hydrogen transmission capacity of 28,000 standard cubic meters per hour.
This remarkable achievement is expected to revolutionize the refining industry by offering a green and sustainable approach to carbon reduction in the industrial sector. The green hydrogen produced by the project will be supplied to local petroleum refining enterprises, leading to a substantial reduction of approximately 485,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
As China’s first exemplary demonstration project integrating the entire process of green hydrogen production and utilization, this initiative faced various challenges, including the utilization of new process technology, large-scale operation, and a lack of mature engineering cases to draw from. However, through extensive research and development efforts, Sinopec successfully addressed technical difficulties associated with hydrogen production from fluctuating renewable power sources.
The project’s joint research and development efforts resulted in the development of a proprietary green power hydrogen production configuration optimization software, enabling seamless synchronization between electric control equipment and hydrogen production equipment. This innovation significantly enhanced adaptability to power fluctuations, ensuring stable and continuous hydrogen supply to downstream refining enterprises.
The project has seen substantial progress, achieving breakthroughs in the 10,000-ton electrolytic water hydrogen production process, green hydrogen storage and transportation process technology, thyristor rectification technology, intelligent control systems, and various other innovative achievements, all of which have been successfully applied on an industrial scale. The project has also declared more than 10 patents and proprietary technologies.
LONGi’s hydrogen production system and “Green Power + Green Hydrogen” solution are expected to drive the development of hydrogen equipment and the hydrogen energy industry chain, ultimately contributing to the realization of ambitious “Zero Carbon” goals.
