Four key points to clarify the path for the development of hydrogen energy in our country

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Four Key Points to Clarify the Path for the Development of Hydrogen Energy in Our Country. Author/Source: Date: 2019-02-14. Clicks: 38. The history of energy development over the past century has essentially been a history of adjustments to the carbon-to-hydrogen ratio; as the hydrogen content increased, so did the energy density. The basic energy density of hydrogen is three times that of gasoline. 　　Therefore, shifting from carbon-based energy to hydrogen energy in the future is an inevitable trend, and hydrogen energy is expected to become the next generation of fundamental energy source. 　　Hydrogen fuel cells have advantages in energy density and fast hydrogen refueling, offering good development prospects, but they face technical challenges. Experts from the Sinopec Research Institute of Economics and Technology point out that the current main problems include high production costs for hydrogen and batteries (catalysts), as well as difficulties in making breakthroughs in the mass production of hydrogen storage materials and reducing their costs. 　　In the long run, key technologies for new energy vehicles, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, will ultimately achieve qualitative breakthroughs, fundamentally transforming the current oil-based energy landscape. 　　Petroleum and chemical enterprises can enter the new energy vehicle industry chain at the appropriate time by providing hydrogen, operating integrated services for fueling and charging as well as hydrogen refueling, and developing lightweight and high-end materials for vehicles. This approach enables transformation and adjustment of the petroleum and chemical industry chain, thereby creating new sources of profit growth. 　　Possible alternatives for future energy \"Developed countries use hydrogen as an energy source; they have established scientific and safe standards for the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, as well as technical standards and monitoring systems for hydrogen tanks in vehicles, thereby facilitating the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles.\" It is recommended to draw on advanced experiences to swiftly remove obstacles related to standard testing and market access barriers, strengthen and improve the systems for hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and distribution, and promptly advance the industrialization of the fuel cell industry. ”Wan Gang, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and President of the China Association for Science and Technology, said at the China Electric Vehicle 100 Forum (2019). 　　To date, there have been two energy revolutions in human history. The first energy revolution saw coal replace wood as the dominant energy source, while the second energy revolution saw oil replace coal as the dominant energy source. 　　Although fossil fuels still dominate at present, given the increasingly severe scarcity of these resources, as well as the environmental pollution caused by vehicle emissions and the depletion of oil reserves, finding clean alternative energy sources is an issue that **must be addressed. 　　Fuel cells do not involve any fuel combustion at all; instead, they convert the chemical energy of the fuel into electrical energy through electrochemical reactions. As a result, their energy conversion efficiency can reach 45% to 60%, which is about twice that of internal combustion engines. This efficiency can even be higher with further technological advancements. 　　Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles do not emit harmful gases such as sulfides and nitrogen oxides, nor do they produce the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles do not suffer from the drawbacks of pure electric vehicles, such as long charging times and short driving ranges. 　　As early as the 1960s, fuel cells were successfully applied in the aerospace industry thanks to their small size and high capacity. 　　After entering the 1970s, with continuous technological advancements, hydrogen fuel cells were gradually applied in power generation and automobiles. 　　Today, with the rise of various electronic smart devices and the popularity of new energy vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells are primarily used in three areas: fixed installations, transportation, and portable devices. 　　The current mainstream development direction of hydrogen fuel cells is hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Fuel cells convert the chemical energy of fuel directly into electrical energy, with a high efficiency of energy conversion. Compared to the lithium-ion batteries used in pure electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells are lighter in weight, require less time to recharge – only 3 to 5 minutes for refueling – and offer a longer driving range of over 600 kilometers. 　　Faced with a demand gap, China aims to overtake its competitors by taking a shortcut. It is understood that hydrogen-powered buses require only 5 to 10 minutes to be refueled once, and they need refueling just once a day; they can then travel up to 400 kilometers. 　　Since the first fuel cell vehicle was introduced in 1966, and after a 31-year period of inactivity, the United States, Japan, and the European Union have come to realize that hydrogen fuel cells can be widely used in areas such as the energy internet and new energy vehicles, in addition to their roles in military and defense applications. 　　Thus, around the year 2000, the application of fuel cell vehicles began to attract attention from developed countries. 　　After that, some countries **actively develop clean energy sources, including hydrogen energy, by enacting energy bills, energy strategies, technology roadmaps, etc., in an effort to reduce their dependence on traditional primary energy sources. 　　Looking at the construction of hydrogen stations worldwide, foreign countries have more developed hydrogen station infrastructure and are seeing faster progress in this area. 　　At present, the development of hydrogen refueling stations for fuel cell vehicles is primarily driven by the United States, Germany, and Japan, which have established long-term plans for this purpose; Japan now has the most hydrogen refueling stations in the world. 　　According to statistics, there are currently over 300 hydrogen refueling stations built worldwide. Compared to foreign countries, the development of hydrogen refueling stations in our country is relatively lagging behind. 　　In recent years, our country has attached great importance to the development of the hydrogen energy industry, and has introduced a series of policies aimed at promoting hydrogen energy as well as related industries. In April 2016, the **Development and Reform Commission**, the **Energy Bureau** and other agencies jointly issued the \"Action Plan for Innovation in Energy Technology Revolution (2016–2030)\", which outlined a roadmap for key innovation initiatives in the field of energy technology and specified 15 specific tasks. \"Innovation in hydrogen energy and fuel cells\" was included among these tasks, indicating that the hydrogen energy industry has been integrated into the **energy strategy**. 　　In June 2016, the **Development and Reform Commission, the Energy Bureau, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the \"Made in China 2025 – Implementation Plan for Energy Equipment,\" which dedicated a separate chapter to the development and utilization of fuel cells and hydrogen energy; these technologies were listed in the **Strategic Outline for Innovation-Driven Development (2016)\" as disruptive technologies capable of driving industrial transformation. In 2017, the **Energy Bureau approved several projects aimed at using wind and solar energy to produce hydrogen for energy storage purposes. In January 2018, the **Ministry of Science and Technology included \"renewable energy and hydrogen energy technologies\" among the key areas for research support. 　　Looking at the hydrogen energy industry plans of various countries, most of them take hydrogen fuel cells as a starting point to gradually improve the supporting infrastructure for the hydrogen energy industry, with the goal of achieving a society powered by hydrogen by 2040–2050. 　　According to the \"Research Report on the Future Development Trends of Hydrogen Energy\" published by the International Hydrogen Energy Committee, by 2050, the demand for hydrogen energy will be 10 times higher than it is today. By 2030, the global number of fuel cell-powered passenger vehicles is expected to range from 10 million to 15 million. 　　In this new round of competition, China is gearing up to overtake on the curve. 　　Technological progress drives down costs. To achieve leadership in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on a global scale and overtake competitors, it is still necessary to overcome various challenges across the entire supply chain; among these, the technical issues related to the production and storage of hydrogen need to be addressed first. 　　Professor Jiang Lijun, director of the special committee of the China Renewable Energy Association, believes that there are still many challenges to be overcome in the production, storage, and transportation of hydrogen energy. 　　In terms of hydrogen production, technologies that use fossil feedstocks—such as coal-to-hydrogen and natural gas-to-hydrogen processes—are already quite mature; however, they still face the issue of carbon emissions. Industrial by-product hydrogen that does not generate additional carbon emissions—such as that from propane dehydrogenation, ethane cracking, and the chlor-alkali industry—is worth paying attention to. The cost of generating electricity from renewable sources has the potential to continue decreasing, and in the future, large-scale electrolysis of water using renewable energy to produce hydrogen will become the main source of hydrogen for the hydrogen industry. 　　Currently, there are mainly three methods for storing hydrogen: high-pressure gaseous storage, cryogenic liquid storage, and solid hydrogen-absorbing material storage. High-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage is currently the most widely used method, with pressure levels of 35 Mpa and 70 Mpa being commonly employed. For large-scale hydrogen storage and transportation, liquid hydrogen has advantages in terms of safety, hydrogen storage capacity, cost, scalability, and hydrogen quality. 　　China’s hydrogen transportation system is also not yet fully developed. 　　The main methods of hydrogen transportation include gaseous hydrogen transportation and liquid hydrogen transportation. 　　At present, in regions where the global hydrogen industry is well-developed, such as Europe, North America, and Japan, efforts to develop this industry are accompanied by a focus on building infrastructure for hydrogen liquefaction, as well as for the storage, transportation, and refueling of liquid hydrogen. However, liquefying 1 kg of hydrogen requires 4–10 kWh of electricity, and storing liquid hydrogen demands special containers capable of withstanding and maintaining ultra-low temperatures, which increases the costs. 　　Gaseous hydrogen transportation includes pipeline transport, tube trailer transport, and hydrogen cylinder transport. 　　Pipeline transportation is generally used in situations where large volumes of material need to be transported. Hydrogen pipelines can be found in various industrial areas in the United States, Canada, and Europe; the total length of such pipelines has now exceeded 16,000 kilometers. The longest hydrogen pipeline in the world exists between France and Belgium, with a length of around 400 kilometers. 　　Long-tube trailers are not suitable for long transportation distances and are used in situations where the volume of material to be transported is small; hydrogen cylinders, on the other hand, are used in cases where the amount of hydrogen to be transported is low and the users are spread out over a wide area. 　　Liquid hydrogen is generally transported using tank trucks and ships, enabling long-distance delivery. 　　Currently, the hydrogen delivery network system is not yet mature, which hinders the large-scale commercial application of hydrogen fuel cell technology. 　　Furthermore, the technological innovation and industrial development of hydrogen energy and fuel cells represent a typical example of cross-sectoral innovation and growth. 　　To reduce the cost and improve durability of hydrogen fuel cells, technological progress is the primary means of lowering the industrialization costs of such fuel cells. 　　The main targets for improvement are the membrane electrode assemblies and bipolar plates: the current production processes for polymer proton exchange membranes are complex, and there is an urgent need for improvements and optimizations, such as reducing the platinum content in catalysts and improving their efficiency. Composite bipolar plates made by combining metal and graphite exhibit excellent performance, have a relatively simple manufacturing process, and lower material costs; they can be prioritized for use as alternatives to the brittle graphite bipolar plates. 　　Cost reduction depends not only on technological progress but also on mass production. 　　After calculations, the U.S. Energy Department concluded that only when the cost of fuel cells drops to $50 per kilowatt-hour can they compete with internal combustion engine vehicles. 　　The development of infrastructure needs to be accelerated. In the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry chain, hydrogen refueling stations serve as crucial hubs for hydrogen production and transportation at the upstream stage, as well as for the application of fuel cell vehicles at the downstream stage. Improving the construction of hydrogen refueling stations helps to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles as well as the progress in related technology research and development. 　　According to estimates from the Trend Silver Think Tank, as of the end of 2017, there were approximately 328 hydrogen refueling stations worldwide. As of March 2018, Japan was the first country to reach 100 hydrogen refueling stations. 　　According to incomplete statistics, as of December 2018, China had 25 hydrogen refueling stations in operation, with several more under construction. Hydrogen refueling stations are also being built or planned in many cities across the country. It is estimated that the number will reach around 100 by 2019. 　　According to the \"Blue Book on the Development of Infrastructure for China’s Hydrogen Energy Industry\" (2016) issued by the National Hydrogen Energy Standardization Technical Committee, short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals have been set for the development of infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cells. 　　It is stipulated that by 2020, large-scale deployment and use of hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen refueling stations will be achieved first in regions where the hydrogen and fuel cell industries are well-developed, such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and Wuhan. A small-scale hydrogen infrastructure network will be established, with over 100 hydrogen refueling stations in total; the capacity of fixed-fuel power generation will reach 200,000 kilowatts, and there will be 10,000 fuel cell-powered vehicles. 　　By 2030, the number of fuel cell vehicles is expected to reach 2 million, with over 1,000 hydrogen refueling stations in total, thus establishing a hydrogen supply network that matches the scale of these fuel cell vehicles. 　　By 2050, hydrogen refueling stations will be available in all areas of the country where the hydrogen industry is well-developed. The layout of such stations on highways will be determined based on the distribution and requirements of regular gas stations; meanwhile, the number of fuel cell vehicles in use is expected to reach 10 million. 　　Lv Hong, an associate professor at the School of Automotive Engineering at Tongji University, pointed out that an accurate understanding of hydrogen energy and its strategic positioning are of great importance. 　　Although our country has **strategically identified hydrogen energy as an important component of the energy framework, and positioned fuel cell vehicles as one of the main directions for the development of the automotive industry, classifying hydrogen as a hazardous chemical rather than an energy source will make it difficult to promote and popularize these products among ordinary consumers. 　　Experts point out that the construction of hydrogen refueling stations must be planned in a step-by-step manner, from individual sites to networks and then to a broader scale. Hydrogen-powered vehicles are usually developed first for commercial buses. 　　For the early-stage setup of hydrogen refueling stations, it is possible to construct them at the starting and ending points of bus routes, and then add an appropriate number along the routes – this is a process that moves from points to lines. 　　Hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles contribute to the development of a hydrogen refueling station network, making it easier to refuel hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles as well. The improvement in energy refueling services for hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles will further encourage the expansion of hydrogen refueling stations from a linear pattern to a more widespread one, thereby gradually establishing a complete regional hydrogen refueling network. 　　The structure of a hydrogen refueling station is not very different from that of a gasoline station, and gasoline stations can be converted into hydrogen refueling stations through appropriate methods. 　　China has the world’s largest automobile consumption market, an urgent need for a transformation of its energy structure, highly favorable support policies for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and an accelerating development of related industrial chains – all of these factors create the best conditions for the growth of hydrogen-powered vehicles in China.