Shell China’s first commercial hydrogen project comes online in Zhangjiakou

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Shell China’s first commercial hydrogen project is launched in Zhangjiakou. Author/Source: Gas Separation. Date: November 16, 2020. Clicks: 16. On November 13, Qiaodong District in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, and Zhangjiakou Jiaotou Shell New Energy Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement regarding the construction of a hydrogen integration demonstration base. It is reported that this project covers the production, storage, transportation, refueling, and application of hydrogen; it is also Shell’s first commercial hydrogen project in China. It is reported that the total investment in the construction of this project is approximately 580 million yuan, with a total land area of 100 mu. The construction includes 1 hydrogen production plant and 3 hydrogen refueling stations. This project converts the abundant renewable electricity available in Zhangjiakou into green hydrogen through electrolysis. The first phase has an annual production capacity of nearly 3,000 tons, sufficient to meet the needs of over 400 hydrogen fuel cell buses. Upon completion, the project will strongly promote the development of the regional hydrogen energy industry, and it will also provide a solid energy supply for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The construction of this project will represent another milestone in the development of Zhangjiakou’s hydrogen energy industry. According to public information, the registered capital of Zhangjiakou Shell New Energy Company is 250 million yuan. Among them, Zhangjiakou Jiaotou Group holds 48.5% of the shares, Shell China holds 47.5%, and Zhangjiakou Zhihydrogen Technology Partnership holds 4%. Zhangjiakou Jiaotou Group was established in July 2016. It is a wholly state-owned limited company funded by the Zhangjiakou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, with a registered capital of 3.3 billion yuan. The group is primarily responsible for the investment, development, construction, and operation of transportation infrastructure in Zhangjiakou, and it is also in charge of the construction and investment related to the transportation infrastructure projects for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou. Sun Jianan, Party Secretary and Chairman of Zhangjiakou Transportation Investment Group, said that Zhangjiakou plans to use renewable energy in the Olympic venues, and will deploy 1,000 hydrogen-powered buses and trucks to serve the Winter Olympics. Xin Sheng, head of Shell China, said that Zhangjiakou has established a fairly comprehensive policy framework for hydrogen energy, and it boasts abundant renewable energy resources that can provide the power needed for carbon-free hydrogen production. Zhangjiakou is the first national **-level renewable energy demonstration zone established with the approval of the State Council, and it is one of the regions in North China with the richest wind and solar energy resources. From its establishment in July 2015 to July 2019, the total installed capacity of renewable energy in this demonstration area reached 13.6 million kilowatts. This lays a solid resource foundation for Zhangjiakou’s development of hydrogen energy. Last June, Zhangjiakou City **released the \"Zhangjiakou Hydrogen Energy Development Plan (2019-2035)\」 in Beijing. According to the plan, Zhangjiakou will become a leading city in hydrogen energy in China by 2021 ； By 2035, it will become an internationally renowned hydrogen energy hub, with the total output value of hydrogen energy and related industries reaching 170 billion yuan. At that time, the annual hydrogen production capacity will be 50,000 tons, and there will be over 100 enterprises operating within the park. According to the plan, Zhangjiakou will focus on six key areas: hydrogen production and preparation, storage and transportation, infrastructure, fuel cells, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and demonstration applications, in order to develop three ecological systems related to policies, industries, and services for a hydrogen city. Even before the release of the aforementioned plan, Zhangjiakou had already made moves in the field of hydrogen energy. In September 2018, Zhangjiakou Jiaotou Group, Zhangjiakou Haipuer Technology Co., Ltd., and China National Petroleum Corporation Hebei Sales Company (CNPC Hebei) signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement. The three parties agreed to establish a joint venture focused on the hydrogen supply industry chain, to set up a network of hydrogen refueling stations in the Zhangjiakou area, and to take responsibility for the related demonstration operations and daily management. As an international oil giant, Shell has also been planning in the field of hydrogen energy for a long time. Last August, at Shell’s forum titled “Better Travel, Creating the Future,” Zhang Xinseng said he was very optimistic about the development of China’s hydrogen energy industry and that site selection for hydrogen refueling stations was underway. At that time, Zhangjiakou was listed as one of the cities of key concern by them. Shell entered China’s hydrogen energy sector in 2009. Back then, Shell established the first commercially operational hydrogen refueling station in China, which is now operated by Tongji University. In Zhang Xinseng’s view, compared to new energy vehicles such as electric cars, hydrogen, which is derived from renewable resources, has greater advantages: it is clean and flexible in its applications, can be burned, used as a raw material in the chemical industry, and in fuel cells, while also having storage capabilities. Furthermore, hydrogen energy possesses extremely high energy density and low weight, giving it unique advantages in the field of heavy trucks. This will be an important area for the development of Shell’s hydrogen business.