China’s hydrogen-coal blending technology has achieved a high proportion of 50% green hydrogen incorporation for the first time
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The 25th National \"Safety Production Month\" in 2026: Everyone talks about safety, and everyone knows how to handle emergencies; identifying and addressing risks and hazards. -------------------------------------------------- This experiment makes use of the \"40-megawatt boiler clean combustion engineering laboratory\", employs hydrogen-coal hybrid combustion burners that were developed entirely through independent research, and has established a comprehensive safety protection system for the entire process from hydrogen delivery to combustion inside the furnace. It enables thorough mixing and combustion of hydrogen with coal powder in the boiler, and achieving 50% hydrogen blending in heat generation on a 40-megawatt coal-fired boiler is the first of its kind in the world. This technology can not only reduce coal consumption and carbon emissions by 50%, but also significantly lower nitrogen oxide emissions. Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power; its combustion produces only water, making it a true zero-carbon fuel. China has the largest installed capacity of coal-fired power plants in the world, with its carbon emissions accounting for about 40% of the country’s total emissions. To enable the coal power industry to undergo a green and low-carbon transformation and contribute to achieving the \"dual carbon\" goals, it is necessary to find viable pathways for carbon reduction. It is reported that this achievement provides an effective technical pathway for existing coal-fired power plants to achieve large-scale carbon reduction, and it holds great significance for the green and low-carbon transformation of coal power in China, as well as for the integrated development of coal power and new energy sources.
Where does hydrogen come from? What is the benefit of co-firing? The social benefits are easy to understand, but what about the economic aspects?
Gentlemen, could you tell me the approximate cost of green hydrogen? As for its use in mixed combustion, can it be understood that good technical tests have been conducted and the desired results have been achieved, while cost remains an issue that needs to be addressed in the future?
The main issue facing the use of green hydrogen in coal combustion at present is that the price of green hydrogen is much higher than that of coal: The cost of green hydrogen is expected to drop to 10–17 yuan/kg by 2030, but the current actual cost is higher (around 17–23 yuan/kg). The cost of coal is approximately 800 yuan per ton for spot purchases, which is far lower than the equivalent cost of coal when considering green hydrogen. As for the costs associated with modifying power plants, converting a 600,000-kilowatt power plant to use hydrogen requires an investment of around 200–300 million yuan, mainly for upgrading the burners and safety systems (accounting for about 10–15% of the total equipment cost). In terms of benefits, there are significant carbon reduction advantages: using 50% hydrogen can reduce carbon emissions by half, thereby enabling the reuse of existing coal-fired power plants worth trillions of yuan and avoiding the need for complete reconstruction. However, the economic viability of this approach remains a challenge, as it is still unclear whether the costs associated with producing, transporting green hydrogen, and upgrading equipment can be brought down to match those of coal-based power generation. At present, hydrogen energy primarily serves as a flexible resource for peak shaving and backup purposes. The break-even point in the future will be reached only when the cost of green hydrogen further decreases or carbon prices rise to higher levels (some studies suggest that carbon prices need to exceed 1,350 yuan per ton) for blending with conventional fuels to become economically viable