[Haichuan Hydrogen Energy] Sinopec’s first proton exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen production demonstration plant has been put into operation at Yanshan Petrochemical
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The last edit to this post was made by Desert Fish on 2021-11-22 at 09:21. On November 8, reporters learned from Sinopec that the company’s first proton exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen production demonstration plant was put into operation at its Yanshan Petrochemical facility; this marks the completion of the entire production process for PEM hydrogen production equipment developed independently by Sinopec, covering key materials, core components, and system integration. This is Sinopec’s innovative approach to accelerating the development of the hydrogen industry; it provides a replicable technical and engineering model for companies to produce \"green hydrogen\" using \"green electricity.\" It holds great significance for accelerating energy transition and helping Beijing establish a green hydrogen energy hub. This demonstration station utilizes the proton exchange membrane electrolysis technology for hydrogen production, which was independently developed by the Petrochemical Research Institute under Sinopec. This technology converts renewable green energy such as that generated from photovoltaic systems into green hydrogen, with zero carbon emissions and no pollution throughout the production and utilization process. It features high stability, good safety, and high hydrogen production efficiency. It is understood that the core component of this demonstration station is the proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, which achieves a hydrogen production efficiency of over 85%; key material components such as the anode and cathode catalysts as well as the bipolar plates are all domestically produced. Ling Yiqun, a member of the Party Leadership Group and vice president of Sinopec Group, attended the launch ceremony to announce the commissioning of Sinopec’s PEM hydrogen production demonstration station. He said that hydrogen, as a clean energy source with the greatest potential for development, is of great significance for driving energy transition and promoting sustainable global economic growth. Sinopec will continue to aim to become a world-leading company in the field of clean energy chemicals, focusing on hydrogen energy as a key area for the development of new energy sources, with the goal of becoming China’s leading hydrogen energy company. Sinopec will take the guarantee of hydrogen supply for the Winter Olympics as an opportunity to accelerate its development in the hydrogen energy sector, continuously strengthening and expanding this industry chain, striving to play a leading role in it, and making new contributions to the growth of China’s hydrogen energy industry as well as the achievement of the \"carbon neutrality\" goal. Sinopec is accelerating its energy transition and industrial upgrading, and is making comprehensive efforts to develop the entire hydrogen industry chain; it has already achieved breakthroughs in various fields such as hydrogen refueling stations, hydrogen production technologies, hydrogen fuel cells, and hydrogen storage materials. At present, the annual hydrogen production capacity exceeds 3.9 million tons, accounting for about 11% of the country’s total hydrogen production. 7 hydrogen purification production units have been installed in enterprises such as Yanshan Petrochemical and Takahashi Petrochemical, and 31 hydrogen refueling stations have been built in 17 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions including Guangdong and Shanghai. “During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, 1,000 hydrogen refueling stations are to be built, with the goal of becoming China’s leading hydrogen energy company and driving the high-quality development of the country’s hydrogen energy industry
On October 20, the pilot plant for hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis at Yanshan Petrochemical was completed, laying a solid foundation for the company’s transition in the field of hydrogen energy research and production from \"blue hydrogen\" to \"green hydrogen\". Lianshan Petrochemical utilizes its abundant resources of industrial by-product hydrogen, and has adopted the mature pressure swing adsorption hydrogen purification technology available in China; it has built a hydrogen purification unit with a capacity of 2,000 standard cubic meters per hour and begun mass production. To date, over 150 tons of hydrogen for fuel cells have been supplied to the market, making it the largest hydrogen production and supply company in Beijing. According to Li Junliang, a leading expert at Yanshan Petrochemical and head of the New Energy Office, hydrogen is generally classified into gray hydrogen, blue hydrogen, and green hydrogen depending on the different methods used for its production. The currently widely used method for purifying industrial by-product hydrogen to produce hydrogen features large production scales, mature technology, and low costs. However, the process of producing hydrogen in this way is often accompanied by a certain amount of carbon emissions and other pollutants, and the resulting hydrogen falls under the category of gray hydrogen or blue hydrogen. Hydrogen produced by using green electricity – electricity generated from renewable sources such as solar and wind energy – through water electrolysis generates no carbon emissions during production; it thus meets the requirements for carbon reduction and is considered green hydrogen. In the field of hydrogen production, gray hydrogen is not suitable; blue hydrogen can be used to a limited extent, while green hydrogen represents the future direction for this industry.
Yanshan Petrochemical, with a strong sense of responsibility, has once again taken on the task of advancing the development of the hydrogen energy industry. While increasing hydrogen production capacity, it is also actively exploring applications for hydrogen energy in various demonstration projects, and making concerted efforts to promote the use of fuel cell vehicles as well as hydrogen energy in general. In July 2020, Yanshan Petrochemical put into use two hydrogen fuel cell buses as shuttles for shift workers, marking the debut of hydrogen-powered vehicles at the facility. On July 16, 2021, Yanshan Petrochemical became one of the first companies in Beijing to deploy two 49-ton hydrogen-powered heavy trucks for short-distance transportation, setting a precedent for the demonstration use of hydrogen-powered heavy trucks in the capital. Hydrogen-powered heavy trucks are driven by hydrogen fuel cells, with water being the only emission. Compared to diesel heavy-duty trucks, it can reduce carbon emissions by 140 tons per year ； At the same time, hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks use hydrogen cylinders that comply with the current national standard of 35 megapascals; it only takes 5–10 minutes to fill them with hydrogen, and their maximum driving range can reach 400 kilometers. This addresses the shortcomings of lithium-ion battery vehicles in terms of handling heavy loads and achieving long driving ranges, thus playing a positive role in accelerating the advancement of green logistics. October 8, 2021, is International Hydrogen Day. The Yanshan Petrochemical Hydrogen Forklift Refueling Demonstration Station was officially completed and put into operation on the same day. This project utilizes technology from Institute 101 of the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (9.050, 0.00, 0.00%). By equipping it with a hydrogen filling facility capable of handling 500 kilograms of hydrogen per day, and by using hydrogen produced by the fuel cell hydrogen production units at Yanshan Petrochemical, it is possible to refuel the 37 new hydrogen fuel cell forklifts installed at Yanshan Petrochemical. This represents the largest number of hydrogen fuel cell forklifts put into use in China to date, opening up new applications for hydrogen energy in the field of production auxiliary vehicles and once again driving progress in the use of hydrogen energy. Wang Lei, a member of the Party Leadership Group and deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, said, “Yanshan Petrochemical has replaced 37 diesel forklifts in its facility with hydrogen-powered forklifts, thereby expanding the range of demonstration applications for hydrogen energy and putting it at the forefront of hydrogen energy utilization in Beijing.” ”