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Wuzhong: Building the “China Ammonia-Hydrogen Valley” to Support the Transition to Green Energy Author/Source: Date: 2022-11-01 Clicks: 44 “Light it up!” ”At the command of the overall supervisor for the furnace drying process, golden flames from #1 furnace dryer instantly filled the water-cooled air chamber, marking the official start of the furnace drying process for #1 boiler. On October 25, after 7 days and 7 nights of work, Boiler #1 of the cogeneration project at Ningxia Power Investment Sunshan Energy Co., Ltd., a key project at both the autonomous region and Wuzhong city levels, successfully completed its drying process. A modern, high-standard, environmentally friendly thermal power plant is being built in the Taisan Mountain Development Zone of Wuzhong City. “The cogeneration project has been approved as a key research and development project at the autonomous region level; it will involve using ammonia-based hydrogen as a fuel to replace 20% of the coal used in combustion. This represents a significant innovative approach for traditional thermal power plants to reduce coal consumption and carbon emissions. The abundant natural resources in the Sun Mountain Development Zone enable the on-site production and use of green ammonia and green hydrogen, further improving the utilization rate of green energy. ”Zhu Xuehui, the person in charge of Ningxia Power Investment Taisunshan Energy Co., Ltd., said. The Sun Mountain Development Zone currently has a wind and solar power installation capacity of 2.4 million kilowatts. “During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the autonomous region will advance the clean and low-carbon transformation of its energy sector, with the installed capacity of renewable energy sources exceeding 50 million kilowatts. Renewable resources have a wide coverage area; they benefit from a solid foundation in the ammonia-hydrogen synthesis industry as well as convenient transportation, which enables them to provide strong support for the local industry’s transformation and upgrading, green development, intelligent development, and the improvement of supply chain infrastructure. “In an effort to actively explore and implement deep decarbonization in the traditional energy sector, the company relies on green power parks as pilot projects to achieve large-scale photovoltaic hydrogen production and the synthesis of green ammonia. Green hydrogen and green ammonia, in combination with the coal and petrochemical enterprises concentrated within industrial parks, help traditional chemical companies to develop in a low-carbon manner while expanding their production capacity, thereby strengthening the industrial chain. ”Zhu Xuehui said. At present, the demonstration project for the \"China Ammonia-Hydrogen Valley\" at Taiyangshan in Wuzhong City has been planned, and the \"Demonstration Project on Online Catalytic Hydrogen Supply Using Ammonia in Circulating Fluidized Bed Power Plants to Reduce Coal Use and Carbon Emissions\" has been approved by the Science and Technology Department of the autonomous region. The demonstration project for carbon neutrality in thermal power generation by using ammonia-hydrogen fuel to replace coal, a collaboration between Ningxia Power Investment Group and Xiamen University, has been approved. The “Ningxia Ammonia-Hydrogen Industry Alliance,” established by Ningxia Datou Taishan Energy Co., Ltd. in collaboration with various enterprises and research institutions, has been officially approved. The \"Ningxia Hydrogen Energy Industry Development Plan (Draft for Comment)\」proposes to establish several hubs for the hydrogen energy industry in cities such as Yinchuan and Wuzhong. Taking advantage of the opportunities available, Wuzhong City makes effective use of solar and wind energy resources to produce hydrogen and ammonia from renewable sources in the Sun Mountain Development Zone, striving to build a \"China Hydrogen and Ammonia Valley\". This project attracts talents, technology, and capital from the domestic industry. The Shanghai Development and Reform Commission has included cities rich in wind and solar resources such as Wuzhong as model cities for cooperation, with the aim of developing the green hydrogen and hydrogen production via ammonia reforming industries. It also encourages the Lingang Hydrogen Energy Industry Fund and hydrogen production equipment manufacturers to collaborate with Ningxia in order to promote advanced hydrogen production technologies, equipment, and services in western cities, thus creating a new model of cross-regional cooperation characterized by the use of hydrogen from the west in the east and the utilization of industrial chains from the east in the west. Currently, the Taishan Development Zone in Wuzhong City brings together key domestic resources in various sectors such as photovoltaic module manufacturing, electrolyzer equipment production, leading enterprises in the energy industry, as well as research institutions and experts in the field of ammonia and hydrogen. It is committed to establishing a complete industrial chain that connects photovoltaic manufacturing, the construction of photovoltaic power plants, the production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources, synthetic ammonia production, green hydrogen, and green ammonia, with the ammonia and hydrogen needs of traditional coal chemical and petrochemical enterprises. Advance new types of integrated energy systems such as the integration of power generation, grids, load, and storage as well as virtual power grids, to help Wuzhong City and Ningxia achieve their goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. “‘Once completed, the ‘China Ammonia-Hydrogen Valley’ project will be able to produce 300,000 tons of green ammonia per year, based on the use of 500 megawatts of photovoltaic power for hydrogen production; this will generate an economic value of 1.5 billion yuan, while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 5.8 million tons per year. ”said Zhou Jianxin, a professor at the Yangtze River Delta Carbon Neutrality Strategic Development Institute of Southeast University. “The Sun Mountain Development Zone will collaborate with local hydrogen production equipment manufacturers in Shanghai Lingang to establish a brand-new green hydrogen and green ammonia industry chain, thereby strengthening the industrial chains for petrochemical and coal chemical products, creating a demonstration effect, and extending its influence to the northwestern region. ”A responsible official from the Sun Mountain Development Zone said that carrying out demonstrations of using renewable energy to produce hydrogen as a substitute for fossil fuels in industries such as synthetic ammonia, methanol, petrochemicals, and coal-to-oil and gas production will help reduce the overall carbon dioxide emissions in Ningxia.