Thread Content
News item: On November 20, the 150-megawatt integrated wind, solar, energy storage and hydrogen production demonstration project operated by China Datang in Duolun entered full market-based operation, marking the successful implementation of China’s first demonstration project that combines green hydrogen with coal chemical processing. This project is expected to produce 70.59 million cubic meters of hydrogen per year, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 138,800 tons. Its environmental benefits are equivalent to the carbon absorption capacity of 1,400 hectares of mature forest over one year. By the time the project was fully operational, it had generated 187.3 million kWh of electricity, produced 22.6 million standard cubic meters of hydrogen, and saved 46,000 tons of standard coal. Breakthrough in the News Deep Dive project: Core technologies fill a gap in the industry. The Datang Duolun project is the first technological demonstration project in China to achieve deep integration of new energy hydrogen production with coal chemical processing. With a total investment of around 1.3 billion yuan, it was developed by Datang Duolun Ruiyuan New Energy Co., Ltd. The project adopts the technology pathway of generating hydrogen through wind and solar power for water electrolysis, and is equipped with a 120MW wind farm, a 30MW solar power plant, and a 22.5MW/45MWh energy storage system. The project has overcome the challenges related to the advanced control mechanisms of large-capacity electrolyzers in hydrogen production for new energy grid integration, filling a gap in the industry. The issue of the impact of fluctuations in wind and solar power output on electrolyzers has been addressed through a hybrid configuration of thyristor and IGBT power supplies. In terms of technical configuration, the project operates in an off-grid mode using wind, solar, and storage power, and features three core systems: the power supply system, the electrolysis system, and the supporting systems. The electrolysis system is equipped with 12 electrolyzers of 1,000 cubic meters per unit and 1 electrolyzer of 2,000 cubic meters per unit, forming a hydrogen production cluster of “4,000 Nm³/h × 3 + 2,000 Nm³/h × 1”. Business model: The coordinated innovation model of “hydrogen production using green electricity + selling excess electricity to the grid” has been successfully implemented in the Datang Duolun project. The core of this model lies in optimizing energy allocation to improve the economic viability of projects. When there is ample sunlight and strong winds, green electricity is used first for hydrogen production, with the remaining power sold to the grid ； When renewable energy generation is insufficient, the hydrogen production system can be adjusted flexibly to ensure continuous production. The produced hydrogen is supplied directly to the methanol synthesis unit at the Tolon Coal Chemical Plant through dedicated pipelines, thereby enabling the replacement of gray hydrogen. Once operational, the project will be able to meet about 20% of the hydrogen demand of local coal chemical enterprises, thereby facilitating the low-carbon transformation of traditional energy companies. This model not only enhances the capacity to utilize new energy sources, but also improves the economic viability of the project through both hydrogen production and electricity sales, providing a replicable model for similar projects in the future. Carbon reduction benefits: The key path for green transformation. As a sector with high carbon emissions, the coal chemical industry faces significant pressure to reduce its emissions. According to estimates by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, per ton of product, the carbon emissions associated with direct coal liquefaction, indirect coal liquefaction, as well as coal-based olefins and coal-based ethylene glycol are 5.8 tons, 6.5 tons, 11.1 tons, and 5.6 tons respectively, which are much higher than those resulting from the use of oil and gas as raw materials. Li Can, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, gave an example: in the production of methanol from coal as a raw material, 2–3 parts of carbon atoms are required per part of the product, and their main role is to provide the hydrogen atoms needed for the chemical reactions involved in this process. “But in reality, the actual utilization rate of these carbon atoms is not high; at most half of them make it into the end products through conversion, while the rest are released as carbon dioxide. If a way can be found to replace this step, carbon emissions can be brought under control. ”Industrial layout: Demonstration projects are being implemented at an accelerated pace in various locations. Not only in Inner Mongolia, but also in regions such as Ningxia and Hami in Xinjiang, efforts are being made to advance the implementation of demonstration projects for the green hydrogen-based coal chemical industry. The Department of Industry and Information Technology of Ningxia **Autonomous Region, in the \"Implementation Plan for the High-Quality Development of Ningxia’s Modern Chemical Industry (2023–2027)\」formulated in 2023, clearly stated the need to promote the integrated development of modern chemistry and clean energy, to accelerate the implementation of a number of projects for generating hydrogen through renewable energy sources via water electrolysis, and to encourage coal chemical enterprises to convert low-grade coal into hydrogen in an efficient and clean manner. Baofeng Energy has built a green hydrogen production facility with a capacity of 30,000 standard cubic meters per hour. It uses \"green electricity\" generated by photovoltaic systems to power the electrolysis units for hydrogen and oxygen production, resulting in hydrogen of 99.999% high purity; this approach enables the integrated development of green hydrogen and the modern coal chemical industry. Hami City in Xinjiang takes advantage of both its coal resources and green energy to actively explore an optimal combination of traditional and new energy sources. When new coal chemical projects are established locally, the proportion of green electricity in the power supply must be over 50%. Challenges and bottlenecks: Technical and economic issues need to be overcome. Although green hydrogen combined with coal chemical industry holds great potential, the sector still faces various challenges related to cost-effectiveness, technical stability, and continuous production. Jin Guozhong, an expert from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that wind and solar power generation are susceptible to changes in season and weather, which objectively leads to instability in hydrogen production and also affects the continuous operation of coal chemical projects. To address intermittent and fluctuating issues, on the one hand, multi-energy integration of wind and solar power can be considered to create a wind-solar hybrid power generation system with relatively stable power supply ； On the other hand, an energy storage system with an appropriate capacity should be installed to stabilize, absorb, and smooth out the output from new energy sources. Cost is another major challenge. Coal chemical projects mainly focus on the production of bulk products, and once they lose their cost advantage, the competitiveness of these products is significantly reduced. However, at present, the production cost of green hydrogen is still twice or even higher than that of hydrogen produced from coal, and its large-scale use inadvertently increases the pressure to control costs in coal-based chemical projects. Future path: Driven by both policy and technology, the next five years will be a critical period for green hydrogen integrated with coal chemical industry to move from demonstration to large-scale deployment. As technology becomes more mature and costs decline, the green hydrogen integration model is expected to be replicated and adopted in more coal chemical projects across the country. Against the backdrop of the global energy transition, green hydrogen integrated with coal chemical industry not only represents an important pathway for China to achieve its \"dual carbon\" goals, but also offers a Chinese solution for the green transformation of high-emission industries worldwide.