Electrolyser manufacturer Longi Hydrogen—a division of Chinese solar firm Longi—has won a contract to supply an alkaline electrolyser to Sinopec’s green hydrogen demonstration project in China.

The $471mn development aims to produce 20,000t/yr of green hydrogen from June 2023. Construction began in November last year.

The plant will be powered by a 300MW solar farm with modules provided by four different companies. One contract has already been awarded to Chinese manufacturer Risen Energy.

Green hydrogen produced by the plant will be supplied to Sinopec Tahe Refining & Chemical to replace grey hydrogen used in existing processes.

“Longi hydrogen electrolysis equipment is reliable, safe and cost-efficient in hydrogen production,” says Longi president Li Zhenguo.

Longi’s electrolyser division aims to reach 1.5GW/yr of capacity by the end of 2022 and 5GW/yr by the end of 2025.

Grey to green

Sinopec is one of China’s largest producers of grey hydrogen, with output at 3.5mn t/yr in 2021. The firm is looking to transition from grey hydrogen to green while retaining its existing customer base.

20,000t/yr – Planned green hydrogen production from 2023

The firm has formed a joint venture (JV) with US technology firm Cummins to pursue green hydrogen projects in China. The JV—called Cummins Enze—will aim to accelerate the affordability and availability of green hydrogen through R&D spending and increasing manufacturing capacity. 

Sinopec has a number of energy transition-related initiatives, including a target to build 1,000 hydrogen refuelling stations by 2025. It will initially supply the stations with largely grey hydrogen before ramping up the supply of blue and green versions of the fuel.

The firm has launched a new proton-exchange-membrane hydrogen production demonstration station at its Yanshan petrochemical complex in Beijing and is investing $4.6bn in a variety of other green hydrogen projects around China.

The firm believes green hydrogen will reach cost parity with diesel in transport by as early as 2025.

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Author: Tom Young