(10 April 2023) China's first "West Hydrogen East Transmission" hydrogen pipeline demonstration project has been included in the "National One Network" construction implementation plan for oil and gas, according to China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec). This marks a new development phase for long-distance hydrogen transportation pipelines in China.
The "National One Network" construction implementation plan for oil and gas was issued by the National Energy Administration in March this year, with the aim of refining the implementation of medium- and long-term oil and gas pipeline network planning, and the five-year pipeline construction tasks for oil and gas development.
According to Mr. Ma Yongsheng, Chairman of Sinopec, the "West Hydrogen East Transmission" pipeline starts in Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and ends in Beijing, with a total length of more than 400 kilometers. It is China's first large-scale, long-distance, and inter-provincial pure hydrogen transportation pipeline. After the pipeline is completed, it will be used to replace fossil fuel-based hydrogen production in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, effectively addressing the problem of supply and demand mismatch for green hydrogen in China, and playing a strategic and demonstrative role in the construction of cross-regional hydrogen transportation pipelines in China, promoting the country's energy transformation and upgrading.
"The first phase of the pipeline has a capacity of 100,000 tons per year, with a potential for future expansion of up to 500,000 tons per year. At the same time, ports will be reserved in multiple locations along the pipeline to facilitate access to potential hydrogen sources," said Mr. Ma. In the future, Sinopec can rely on the construction of branches and hydrogen refueling stations of the "West Hydrogen East Transmission" pipeline to assist in the construction of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei hydrogen energy corridor, and help achieve the "dual carbon" goals in the region.
Mr. Ma said that this project will provide a demonstration solution for the application of green hydrogen across provinces and cities in western China. Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced through renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, and is considered one of the most promising clean energy sources. Inner Mongolia has rich wind and solar resources, giving it unique advantages in developing green hydrogen. However, the efficient and convenient transportation of green hydrogen from Inner Mongolia and other western regions to the eastern regions with high mark demand has always been a bottleneck for the development of the green hydrogen industry.
"Hydrogen pipelines can achieve large-scale, long-distance hydrogen transportation while ensuring economic efficiency. Sinopec has already established a demonstration project for a green hydrogen project combining wind and solar energy in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and plans to build a large-scale green electricity-to-hydrogen project in Ulanqab City. By establishing an integrated hydrogen industry development model that combines wind and solar power generation, green electricity-to-hydrogen, hydrogen gas transportation, and refining and transportation use of hydrogen, we will achieve a full industrial chain demonstration layout for the hydrogen energy industry," said Mr. Ma.
* The above news article was translated by Templewater
