China: a new pipeline for the transfer of green hydrogen

Chinese oil giant, Sinopec, will build a pipeline to transfer hydrogen from renewable energy projects in China’s northwestern Inner Mongolia region to cities in the country’s east, according to a report published Monday by the official Xinhua news agency. The pipeline will run 400 km from Ulanqab, a sparsely populated region in Inner Mongolia, to the capital Beijing, and will have an initial capacity of 100,000 tons per year, said Sinopec chairman Ma Yongsheng.

First green hydrogen pipeline in China

Ports will be built along the pipeline to provide access to potential new sources of hydrogen, the report adds. Although the country already operates pipelines for “gray hydrogen” produced from fossil fuel sources, the project is the country’s first “West-East” green hydrogen transmission line, according to the report. Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water molecules with renewable electricity and is touted as a clean replacement for fossil fuels in hard-to-decarbonize industries.

Massive investment in green hydrogen in China

Sinopec, the state-owned oil and gas company, is the largest producer of hydrogen in China. This year it announced the construction of a green hydrogen plant in the city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, with a planned annual capacity of 30,000 tons. The company has also launched a green hydrogen project in Kuqa, in the western region of Xinjiang, in 2021. Last year, China’s state planner announced a goal of producing 100,000 to 200,000 tons of green hydrogen per year and having about 50,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2025, as the country pursues an ambitious campaign to transition to renewable energy