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Recently, a reporter visited Jiaozuo Coal Industry (Group) Kaiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd., where a picture of a traditional chemical enterprise transforming into a new energy enterprise came into view. On the industrial landscape of Jiaozuo in Henan, the company established itself in the market by producing basic chemical products such as ion-exchange membrane caustic soda. Today, the 2MW hydrogen fuel cell combined heat and power demonstration project operating within the factory site marks this traditional chemical company’s move beyond the single realm of chemical production; it embarks on a journey in the field of new energy powered by hydrogen, undergoing a profound transformation from \"manufacturing\" to \"smart manufacturing\" and from \"high consumption\" to \"clean energy\". Introduction: The \"dilemmas and turning points\" in the use of hydrogen produced as a by-product in basic chemical manufacturing. \"In the past, when we produced caustic soda, the hydrogen generated as a by-product was either released into the atmosphere or sold at low prices; this not only led to waste of resources but also posed safety risks.\" ”Standing next to the project’s equipment, Cheng Bingguo, the deputy general manager of Kaiyuan Chemical, articulated the common challenges faced by traditional basic chemical enterprises in terms of extending their industrial chains. As one of the core products in the basic chemicals industry, the production of caustic soda inevitably generates large amounts of industrial by-product hydrogen. This type of by-product used to be a \"sweet burden\" for enterprises – failing to deal with it posed environmental and safety risks, while simple treatment methods did not yield economic benefits, thus becoming a bottleneck that hindered the high-quality development of the basic chemicals industry. How can by-product hydrogen be turned from a \"burden\" into a \"asset\"? Kaiyuan Chemical has turned its attention to the **new energy industry, which is heavily supported. With the advancement of the \"dual carbon\" strategy, hydrogen, as an important carrier of clean energy, sees a continuous rise in market demand. Companies have realized that a stable supply of hydrogen as a by-product in basic chemical production represents a unique advantage for entering the new energy sector. In June 2023, Kaiyuan Chemical overcame the challenges posed by the lack of precedents for such processes and no existing benchmarks for similar scales, and launched a 2MW hydrogen fuel cell combined heat and power demonstration project, thus embarking on a transition from the treatment of basic chemical by-products to the utilization of hydrogen as an energy source. Overcoming challenges: The transition from a chemical industry mindset to the development of a new energy industry chain is not merely a matter of adding new technologies; it involves a complete reshaping of production logic. Kaiyuan Chemical has abandoned the traditional chemical industry’s approach of \"extensive utilization\" and instead restructured the hydrogen utilization chain in line with the high standards of the new energy sector. With the support of advanced domestic technology teams, it has overcome a series of technical and process challenges. In the purification stage, the project team innovatively adopted a process of \"dechlorination + deoxygenation + TSA (temperature swing adsorption) drying + PSA (pressure swing adsorption)\") to raise the purity of the industrial by-product hydrogen, which was originally only 99.5%, to 99.999% – the standard required for hydrogen used in fuel cell vehicles – thereby completely breaking the misconception that \"chemical by-product hydrogen has low quality and is difficult to use\" ； During the filling process, the latest filling column integrated equipment overcomes the limitations of traditional tube-valve filling systems; it is equipped with an automatic metering and intelligent billing management system that enables real-time, precise control of hydrogen filling, thus allowing hydrogen produced as a by-product of chemical processes to meet the standards of commercial new energy products ； In the utilization phase, a dual-path system of “purification-power generation-external supply” is established. That is, a portion of the hydrogen enters the fuel cell power generation system to provide clean electricity for industrial production ； The other portion is supplied through filling equipment and integrated into the regional hydrogen energy supply chain, thereby truly transforming the \"by-products\" of basic chemical manufacturing into a key component of the new energy industry chain. Breaking through: A new ‘coordinate’ for new energy in old chemical industrial bases. Today, Kaiyuan Chemical’s efforts in hydrogen energy have yielded fruitful results. The fuel cell power generation system can produce 15.13 million kWh of clean electricity per year, saving enterprises 9.34 million yuan in electricity costs and reducing coal consumption by 1,800 tons. Meanwhile, a total of 626,000 kilograms of high-purity hydrogen for external supply have been sold, and the annual sales volume of ordinary hydrogen has exceeded 52.3 million cubic meters. This not only provides a stable source of hydrogen for hydrogen refueling stations in cities such as Jiaozuo and Zhengzhou, but also enables these companies to generate annual revenues of over 10 million yuan from new energy sources, in addition to their earnings from traditional chemical industries. This achievement is not only a sign of Kaoyuan Chemical’s self-improvement but also serves as a crucial backbone for Jiaomei Group’s transformation from a coal enterprise into a comprehensive energy services provider. Leveraging the project experience of Kaiyuan Chemical, Coking Coal Group is advancing the development of the entire hydrogen value chain, covering production, storage, transportation, distribution, and utilization. In the future, it will also explore applications such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for commuting and hydrogen-powered power generation connected to the grid, thereby turning the industrial foundation of basic chemicals into a solid basis for the development of new energy sources. From the \"dark\" processes of chemical production to the \"green\" utilization of hydrogen energy, and from the disposal of by-product hydrogen to the development of a hydrogen industry chain, the efforts of Jiaomei Kaiyuan Chemical have shown that traditional basic chemical companies are not forced to adapt passively in the wave of transformation. By identifying their own strengths and daring to break free from conventional thinking patterns, they can find their own \"new position\" in the field of new energy, thus contributing to China’s green industrial transformation through the power of hydrogen. (Reporter Liu Yongming, Correspondent Li Bowen)