Page 13 - AsiaElec Week 48 2021

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Sinopec to world’s largest

green hydrogen plant

CHINA CHINA’S Sinopec is to build a $470mn green The plant will supply Sinopec’s oil refinery in
hydrogen plant, the world’s largest and entirely Tahe, Xinjiang, replacing its current natural gas-
powered by solar energy, in a bid to produce based hydrogen production, saving an expected
10,000 tonnes per year of the gas. 485,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per
Sinopec said that the CNY3bn ($470mn) year.
plant in Kuqa, in the far western region of Xin- Sinopec chairman Ma Yongsheng said the
jiang, would be China’s first photovoltaic-pow- project would give full play to Xinjiang’s resource
ered hydrogen plant with an annual output advantages and was a key project for the compa-
capacity of more than 10,000 tonnes. ny’s ambitions to be the country’s No 1 hydro-
Most of the country’s hydrogen is produced gen producer, according to party mouthpiece
from fossil fuels, with just 4% cent coming from People’s Daily.
renewable sources. China already produces the Han Xiaoping, a chief analyst at energy
most hydrogen in the world, which is uses it as industry website china5e.com, said low land
an industrial raw material. costs and high solar power generation efficiency
Green hydrogen – produced from renewa- in Xinjiang would reduce the overall cost of the
ble sources such as solar and wind energy – has Sinopec project.
significantly lower carbon emissions than grey Sinopec is China’s largest hydrogen producer
hydrogen, which is produced using fossil fuels with a capacity of 3.9 million tonnes per year,
such as natural gas. accounting for 11 per cent of China’s total pro-
Sinopec’s demonstration project will go duction. It aims to build 1,000 hydrogen refu-
through the whole process of green hydrogen elling stations during the 14th five-year plan
production and utilisation, including photovol- period to 2025.
taic power generation, transformation, electro- The company has three more green hydrogen
lytic hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, production projects in the pipeline, including
transport and refining. two in the northern region of Inner Mongolia
The company will build a solar power station and an offshore wind-based facility in the south-
with an installed capacity of 300MW to support eastern province of Fujian. ™
hydrogen production. It will also build a hydro-
gen production plant from water electrolysis,
hydrogen storage tanks and a hydrogen pipeline.

Week 48 01•December•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13