12-09-2023

China’s first 10,000-ton photovoltaic green hydrogen pilot project fully built and in production

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation completed the construction of the Sinopec Xinjiang Kuqa Green Hydrogen Pilot Project, China’s largest photovoltaic green hydrogen production project lately. It is put into operation to produce an annual green hydrogen of 20,000 tons at full capacity, a significant breakthrough in China’s scaled industrial applications of green hydrogen.

The green hydrogen produced by the Project will supply to Sinopec Tahe Petrochemical to replace the existing natural gas and fossil energy used in hydrogen production, realizing the low-carbon development of modern oil processing and green hydrogen coupling.

The Project is China’s first large-scale utilisation of photovoltaic power generation to produce green hydrogen directly. Utilising the abundant solar resources in Xinjiang, the Project has an electrolysed water hydrogen plant with an annual capacity of 20,000 tons, a spherical hydrogen storage tank with a hydrogen storage capacity of 210,000 standard cubic metres, and hydrogen transmission pipelines with a capacity of 28,000 standard cubic metres per hour.

The Project, as the first scaled application of green hydrogen refining, is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 485,000 tons a year. Sinopec has tackled multiple bottlenecks, including flexible hydrogen production under the scenario of new energy power fluctuation, and achieved localisation of major equipment and core materials.

With a focus on hydrogen transportation and green hydrogen refining, Sinopec is accelerating its hydrogen development with the establishment of more than 100 hydrogen refueling stations, owning and operating the largest number of hydrogen refueling stations in the world to date.

In the field of green hydrogen refining, Sinopec has been vigorously advancing centralized wind power and photovoltaic development, laying out mega-scale projects integrating renewable energy power generation, hydrogen production, storage, and utilisation.

In addition to the Project, Sinopec’s green hydrogen project in Ordos, which will produce 30,000 tons annually began construction in February 2023, while the Ulanqab project is now in the planning stage. Towards the 'dual-carbon' goals, Sinopec is committed to reducing carbon emissions and continually supporting and promoting green, low-carbon development.

China’s First 10,000-ton Photovoltaic Green Hydrogen Pilot Project Now Fully Built and Put into Production, KUQA, China, Aug. 31, 2023