H2 pipeline project from Kangbao to Caofeidian – World’s largest green hydrogen pipeline to have its survey and design completed by the end of the year!
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Tangshan Haitai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. recently revealed that the hydrogen pipeline project from Kangbao to Caofeidian is currently in the survey phase, during which tests will be conducted on pipeline materials and valves for their compatibility with hydrogen. The pipeline is expected to come online by the end of 2026, and at that time it will become the world’s largest in diameter and capable of transporting the highest volume of green hydrogen, thereby further promoting the integrated development of the hydrogen industry in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It is understood that the hydrogen pipeline from Kangbao to Caofeidian aims primarily to meet the demand for hydrogen in Tangshan City and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The pipeline starts at the Kangbao First Station near the Kangbao hydrogen production plant in Zhangjiakou, and ends at the Caofeidian Last Station in Tangshan City. It passes through 20 districts and counties in Zhangjiakou City, Chengde City, and Tangshan City. The total length of the pipeline is approximately 1,037.82 kilometers, with a design pressure of 7.2 megapascals and a diameter of 813 millimeters. The designed annual hydrogen transport capacity is 1.55 million tons. According to Bai Tianming, general manager of the company’s hydrogen energy division, this pipeline serves as a \"bridge\" connecting hydrogen production with end-user applications, enabling an effective connection between resources and the market. One end of the pipeline is connected to Zhangjiakou, where there are abundant wind and solar resources, allowing for the production of green hydrogen using renewable energy sources ； The other end is connected to Tangshan, a hydrogen consumption hub that, as an industrial hub, boasts numerous applications for hydrogen energy, such as hydrogen-powered heavy trucks and hydrogen-based metallurgy. In addition, Bai Daming also shared the technical challenges encountered by the company during pipeline construction and the solutions adopted. He said that safety assessment work faces certain difficulties due to the lack of appropriate safety standards. However, the industry standards for hydrogen pipeline design have been published on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and are expected to be officially implemented in the near future, which will provide some support for the project. To ensure the safety of pipelines, Tangshan Haitai New Energy has adopted a number of advanced technologies. The company used high-strength steel pipes of X60 grade, carried out 100% radiographic and 100% ultrasonic testing on all ring welds, and made full use of automatic welding. The company has also established a control center in Zhangbei County, Zhangjiakou, to enable centralized monitoring, optimized operation, and unified scheduling management of pipelines, stations, and valve rooms. A fiber-optic early warning system is also installed along the pipeline; it can capture vibration signals generated by abnormal events such as damage or excavation through fiber-optic sensors, analyze and assess these signals using intelligent software, and issue warnings accordingly. In addition, the company has also carried out tasks such as leakage analysis and prototype development of pipes, all of which have achieved good results. According to Hydrogen Energy Hub (WeChat official account: h2-2005), pipeline transportation of hydrogen is currently the best method for transporting it over long distances. However, due to certain issues in technology and standard systems related to this method, its development progress has not been as fast as expected. As a result, **Energy Pipeline Network Group Engineering Technology Innovation Co., Ltd. recently launched a project to acquire market data on hydrogen resources on the National Natural Gas Pipeline Decision Support Platform. The launch of this data acquisition project reflects **the Pipeline Network Group’s commitment to hydrogen, as well as to future hydrogen-based energy transmission projects, and its efforts to develop a national strategy in order to gain a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the development of the hydrogen industry. It will also lay the foundation for standardizing the construction standards for hydrogen pipelines across the country in the future.
Since 2023, the construction of hydrogen pipelines in our country has accelerated, with several pipelines already planned, registered, and approved. The construction of hydrogen pipelines in our country is accelerating, with new progress being made in China’s long-distance hydrogen transport projects. In May 2024, the bidding process for the design and survey work across the entire scope of the Kangbao-Caofeidian hydrogen pipeline project, planned and constructed by Tangshan Haitai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., was completed. Public information shows that the pipeline is 763 kilometers long, with its starting point in Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou, and its ending point in Caofeidian, Tangshan; its designed pressure is 6.3 MPa. Since last year, the construction of hydrogen pipelines in our country has accelerated, with several pipelines already planned, registered, and approved. In the industry’s view, with the acceleration of these pipeline constructions, the issue of mismatch between hydrogen supply and demand will be effectively resolved, thereby driving the development of the hydrogen industry downstream.
The projects have been progressing step by step. As early as March 2022, the **National Development and Reform Commission** and the **Energy Administration** jointly issued the \"Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021–2035)\", which calls for coordinated efforts to develop infrastructure for hydrogen energy use. On the premise of ensuring safety and controllability, it emphasizes the need to advance innovations in technology, materials, and manufacturing processes, while also supporting research and experimentation with various methods of storage and transportation. Pilot projects for hydrogen-blended natural gas pipelines and pure hydrogen pipelines will be carried out. Since then, relevant companies have accelerated their planning and deployment, with multiple pipeline hydrogen transport projects being advanced one after another. On April 10, 2023, Sinopec announced that the demonstration project for the hydrogen transport pipeline linking western China with eastern China had been included in the Implementation Plan for the Development of a National Oil and Gas Network. The planned starting point of this pipeline is in Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the ending point is at Yanshan Petrochemical in Beijing; with a total length of over 400 kilometers, it is China’s first cross-provincial, large-scale, long-distance pure hydrogen transmission pipeline. On August 29, 2023, the first medium- to long-distance hydrogen pipeline in the Yumen Oilfield began to transport hydrogen to external destinations, with the target being the Yumen Chemical Industry Park; it was the first such pipeline of its kind in Gansu Province. In December of the same year, the approval was granted for the 100,000 tons per year Dingzhou-Gaobeidian hydrogen pipeline project, as well as for the Zhangjiakou Kangbao-Caofeidian hydrogen pipeline project. “The accelerated development of hydrogen pipelines has a significant and multifaceted impact on the growth of China’s hydrogen energy industry. ”Li Jingfa, an associate researcher at the Hydrogen Energy Research Center of Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, said in an interview with a reporter from China Energy News, “Firstly, the construction of hydrogen pipelines facilitates large-scale, long-distance transportation of hydrogen, which is crucial for addressing the issue of mismatch between hydrogen supply and demand in different regions in China, as well as the problem of imbalance between supply and demand.” ； Secondly, the construction and operation of hydrogen transmission pipelines will promote the widespread use of hydrogen energy, help achieve China’s ‘dual carbon’ goals, and enhance China’s competitiveness in the field of clean energy on a global scale ； In the long run, the construction of hydrogen pipelines will lay a solid foundation for establishing a cross-regional hydrogen transportation network in our country. It will not only enable the effective integration of hydrogen resources across the country and promote the comprehensive development of the hydrogen industry, but also improve energy utilization efficiency and ensure **energy security. ”
It is understood that China has accumulated considerable experience in the construction and operation of industrial pipelines and specialized pipelines for pure hydrogen, with a total length of over 300 kilometers. However, it lags behind in the construction of long-distance pure hydrogen pipelines, with the total length of operational pipelines being less than 100 kilometers. The currently mature method for hydrogen transportation is long tube trailers, while the transportation of hydrogen blended in natural gas pipelines and through dedicated hydrogen pipelines is still in the exploratory stage. The \"White Paper on China’s Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Industry\" released by the China Hydrogen Energy Alliance previously stated that the long-truck trailer delivery method is relatively mature, but it has a low hydrogen carrying capacity – each truck can carry 300–400 kilograms of hydrogen – and its economic delivery range is no more than 150 kilometers, making it unsuitable for long-distance, large-scale transportation. “The advantage of long-tube trailers is their flexibility and convenience, but the amount of hydrogen they can transport in a single trip is only 300–400 kilograms, which accounts for 1%–2% of the trailer’s total weight. The cost per kilogram rises to 5–6 yuan when the transportation distance is 100 kilometers. Based on a hydrogen transport volume of 4 tons per day, when the transportation distance increases from 50 kilometers to 600 kilometers, the transportation cost using 20MPa long-tube trailers rises from 2.4 yuan per kilogram to 13.3 yuan per kilogram. ”Liu Cuiwei, an associate professor at the School of Storage, Transportation and Construction Engineering at China University of Petroleum (Huadong), used data to provide a comparison for reporters from China Energy News. \"For hydrogen transport via pipelines, assuming a 100% utilization rate of capacity, when the transportation distance increases from 50 kilometers to 500 kilometers, the transportation cost rises only from 0.8 yuan per kilogram to 2.3 yuan per kilogram – a figure that is significantly lower than the costs associated with transporting hydrogen using tube trailers or liquid hydrogen tankers. In the future, once hydrogen energy becomes widely used across various sectors, pipeline transportation of hydrogen will be the most promising method for its delivery.\" ” Li Jingfa said, “Compared with other transportation methods, pipeline hydrogen transport is one of the most economical ways for large-scale delivery of hydrogen at present. It boasts advantages such as low costs and high efficiency, which helps enhance the market competitiveness of hydrogen energy, accelerates the commercialization of hydrogen technology, and promotes the healthy development of the hydrogen industry.” With technological advancements and rising demand for hydrogen, pipeline transportation is expected to become an economical method for transporting hydrogen in the future. ”
Several respondents noted that different hydrogen delivery methods have different applicable scenarios. In practical selection, considerations should be given to specific requirements, economic conditions, and the level of technological development. “Overall, addressing the challenges of hydrogen storage and transportation requires a systematic approach that combines short-term practical options with long-term technological advancements, in order to gradually establish an efficient, economical, and safe hydrogen storage and transportation network. By upgrading existing natural gas pipelines, developing dedicated hydrogen transport pipelines, innovating road transportation technologies, and creating efficient and safe methods for storing hydrogen, it is possible to effectively address the challenges related to the storage and transportation of hydrogen, thereby accelerating its large-scale deployment. ”Li Jingfa pointed out. In Li Jingfa’s view, \"in the short term, the existing natural gas pipeline network should be fully utilized, and hydrogen blending in transportation should be achieved through technical upgrades.\" This not only enables rapid large-scale transportation of hydrogen but also reduces initial investment costs. From a medium to long-term perspective, it is necessary to develop pure hydrogen pipelines. As the demand for hydrogen increases, pure hydrogen pipelines will have a significant cost advantage. In regions where demand for hydrogen is growing rapidly, building pure hydrogen pipelines can enable large-scale hydrogen supply. ” “The storage and transportation of hydrogen should not be limited to a single method; rather, a diversified network should be established. In areas where hydrogen pipelines cannot reach, road transport remains a necessary supplement. Long-distance pipeline transportation and regional road transport should be combined with new storage and transportation methods such as solid hydrogen storage to meet the needs of different regions and scales. ”Li Jingfa said.
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】2093–2024: China’s first ultra-high-pressure fractured gas reservoir began producing gas https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5675927 (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum [Haichuan Network])
The construction of hydrogen pipelines in our country is still in its initial stage. The total length of hydrogen pipelines built in the country exceeds 400 km. Among them: 1. The Jiyuan-Luoyang hydrogen pipeline has a total length of 25 km, a design pressure of 4.0 MPa, a pipe diameter of D508 mm, and a designed transport capacity of 100,000 tons; it is currently the hydrogen pipeline with the largest pipe diameter, highest pressure, and highest transport capacity that has been built ； 2. The Baling-Changling hydrogen purification and transmission pipeline was completed in 2014; it has a total length of 42 km, a design pressure of 4.0 MPa, a maximum pipe diameter of 457 mm, and an annual transport capacity of 44,000 tons ； 3. The total length of the Jinling-Yangtze hydrogen pipeline is over 32 km; its maximum annual transport capacity is 40,000 tons. The design pressure is 4.0 MPa, the pipe diameter is D325 mm, and the material used for the pipes is 20# petroleum cracking steel ； 4. The Dingzhou-Gaobeidian hydrogen pipeline project is currently the longest and largest-capacity hydrogen pipeline of its kind in China, and it is also the first pipeline designed for fuel cell use. The total length of this pipeline is approximately 164.7 km, with a diameter of D508 mm and a design pressure of 4.0 MPa.
The total length of hydrogen pipelines abroad exceeds 2,600 kilometers. The United States has the largest network of hydrogen pipelines; alone along the Gulf Coast, it boasts the world’s largest hydrogen supply network, with a length of over 900 kilometers. This network connects 22 chemical manufacturing plants, and the volume of hydrogen transported is 1.5 million Nm3/h. Europe has also built over 1,500 kilometers of hydrogen pipelines, with operating pressures generally below 5.0 MPa and pipe diameters ranging from D100 mm to D500 mm. The length of hydrogen pipelines already built in Europe is approximately 1,770 km. Canada's hydrogen pipeline is approximately 150 km long.