Distributed methanol-to-hydrogen technology – internationally advanced!

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On August 26, the project \"Development and Application of Key Technologies for Efficient Distributed Methanol-to-Hydrogen and Hydrogenation Integration\", led by the Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemical Technology (hereinafter referred to as the \"Research Institute\"), passed the evaluation of scientific and technological achievements organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. The appraisal committee, composed of Cao Xianghong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Li Yadong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and experts from institutions such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Beijing University of Chemical Technology, concluded that this achievement is generally at the international advanced level. 　　According to Lin Wei, deputy dean of the Institute of Rock and Mineral Sciences, the distributed methanol-to-hydrogen technology uses methanol as its raw material – a substance that is readily available, easy to obtain, and simple to transport. It operates on a \"store in front, factory behind\" model, with hydrogen being produced on-site at the hydrogen refueling stations; after further processing such as compression and storage, it is directly injected into vehicles. This approach helps to address the industry challenges associated with high costs of high-purity hydrogen required for fuel cells in distributed applications like hydrogen refueling stations, as well as the limitations in their commercial deployment. 　　To drive breakthroughs in distributed methanol-to-hydrogen technology, the China Academy of Petroleum Sciences established a multidisciplinary project team. After years of intensive research, the team took four key areas as breakthrough points: the development of catalysts such as the RSR-501 methanol reforming catalyst and CCC series catalytic oxidation catalysts, process intensification technologies, intrinsically safe design, and system integration optimization. By overcoming the key core technologies required for making distributed methanol-to-hydrogen systems smaller, more efficient, intrinsically safe, and digitally advanced, they developed China’s first highly integrated distributed methanol-to-hydrogen demonstration unit with a capacity of 500 standard cubic meters per hour; this unit covers an area of only 64 square meters, making it the smallest of its kind in China. 　　Leveraging its independently developed distributed methanol-to-hydrogen technology and demonstration facilities, Sinopec was the first to initiate long-term commercial operations of the country’s first methanol-to-hydrogen and hydrogen refueling integrated station, the Dalian Shengang Comprehensive Energy Station, located outside a chemical industrial park, thereby achieving a breakthrough in the development of commercial hydrogen production and refueling integrated stations from scratch. Tests conducted by authoritative institutions and the actual performance of the Dalian Shengang Comprehensive Energy Station demonstrate that this technology features strong operational stability, fast response times, and flexibility in production. Its key performance indicators—including hydrogen and methanol consumption per unit mass, electricity consumption per unit mass of hydrogen, land area required for installations of similar scale, and heat-up time—are significantly superior to those of similar technologies. 　　“Our country is the world’s largest methanol producer, accounting for 60% of the global methanol production capacity. This technology can serve as a method for providing hydrogen in large quantities, on a long-term basis, and in a stable manner in areas of our country where hydrogen resources are scarce, thereby ensuring **energy security and the safety of the hydrogen industry chain. ”Lin Wei said that, at the same time, by enabling the “omission” of the costly hydrogen transportation process, this technology can reduce costs by more than 20% compared to traditional hydrogen refueling methods, and it also helps to minimize the safety risks associated with hydrogen storage and transportation.