China takes nod on giant solar-to-hydrogen project

China

BEIJING, July 19, 2023 – China has approved PetroChina’s plans to build a solar-to-hydrogen project located in the northwest Gansu province, Upstream Online reported on Tuesday.

The project will be located in the oil and gas giant’s mature Yumen field.

It will consist of a photovoltaic power generation facility with a capacity of up to 30 MW and four water electrolysis hydrogen units, with capacities to produce 1,000 cubic metres per hour of hydrogen each.

The facility will also be equipped with a 35-kV transmission line connecting the solar plant to the hydrogen units.

A 6.7-kilometre export pipeline will also be constructed to link the project to the Yumen refinery, along with a hydrogen production laboratory and storage tanks.

Hydrogen will be used as feedstock by the local chemicals industry.

The project is expected to be completed by late 2024 and produce 2,100 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

PetroChina also announced the award of the EPC contract for the project to China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company.

The local engineering entity will provide alkaline water electrolysers, a gas-liquid separation device, a processing unit, a high and low-pressure hydrogen compressor, a storage tank and other public utilities for the project.

In July 2023, Sinopec started up the world’s largest solar-to-hydrogen plant in the northwest Xinjiang region of China.

China plans to produce between 100,000 and 200,000 metric tonnes per year of green hydrogen by 2025.