[Haichuan New Energy] Sinopec’s 20,000-ton green hydrogen demonstration project in Kuche, Xinjiang, is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year
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The green hydrogen demonstration project in Kuqa, Xinjiang, will rely entirely on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to produce hydrogen, with an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons; it is also the largest green hydrogen project under construction globally at present. The entire photovoltaic project covers an area of over 9,500 mu, which is equivalent to the size of more than 900 football fields. The entire project is currently under intense construction. In the panel shown below, for every 58 degrees of green electricity generated, 1 kilogram of hydrogen can be produced.
During the hydrogen production process, green electricity is supplied to the hydrogen production facility, where hydrogen is generated through alkaline water electrolysis. The hydrogen produced is transported via pipelines to the Tahe Refining and Chemical Company located near the project, where it is used in the refining processes, replacing natural gas as a source for hydrogen production. This results in an annual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of around 500,000 tons. Processing and utilizing resources on-site – Xinjiang is particularly rich in photovoltaic resources, so exploring new hydrogen-based energy solutions here is highly suitable. The cost of producing hydrogen through photovoltaic water electrolysis is approximately 18 yuan per kilogram. It is understood that taking Sinopec as an example, in order to reduce carbon emissions during the refining process, 2.1 million tons of hydrogen can be replaced by green hydrogen, accounting for around 48% of the total amount of hydrogen currently used. At the current market price of 20 yuan per kilogram for hydrogen, the market value exceeds 42 billion yuan.
Due to the low cost of natural gas in Xinjiang, green hydrogen produced via photovoltaic power replaces blue hydrogen produced from natural gas, resulting in annual losses of 200 million yuan. That’s why it is a “pilot” project.
The Xinjiang Kuche green hydrogen demonstration project is Sinopec’s first project to cover the entire process of green hydrogen production and utilization, including wind and solar power generation, transmission of green electricity, production of hydrogen from green electricity, hydrogen storage, hydrogen transportation, and the use of green hydrogen in refining. As stated in Sinopec’s official press release, the successful completion of the entire process from green hydrogen production to its utilization marks the first time in China that a green hydrogen refining project on a ten-thousand-ton scale has seen the whole industry chain connected.
The Ordos renewable energy resources-based green hydrogen production project (with an annual output of 30,000 tons of green hydrogen) is designed to support the 3.6 million tons per year methanol production project operated by Trina Solar in Ordos.