Sinopec starts building green hydrogen plant in Xinjiang

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) today (30^th November) has kicked off the construction of 10k tonnes photovoltaic green hydrogen pilot project, the Sinopec Xinjiang Kuqa Green Hydrogen Pilot Project Kuqa, Xinjiang, China.

Once completed, the project will produce an annual green hydrogen output of 20k tonnes, making it the world’s largest photovoltaic green hydrogen production project. The project is expected to be in operation by June 2023. The green hydrogen will be supplied to Sinopec Tahe Refining & Chemical to replace the existing natural gas and fossil energy used in hydrogen production.

The hydrogen production plant will directly use large-scale photovoltaic power generation. It will see an investment of 3 billion yuan ($470.77 million). As part of the project, Sinopec will build:

• A new photovoltaic power station with an installed capacity of 300 MW and annual power generation of 618 million kWh
• An electrolysed water hydrogen plant with a yearly capacity of 20k tonnes
• A spherical hydrogen storage tank with a hydrogen storage capacity of 210,000 standard cubic meters
• Hydrogen transmission pipelines with a capacity of 28,000 standard cubic meters/hour (including supporting power transmission and transformation facilities)

The CO2 emissions are estimated to be cut by 485k tonnes/year and will contribute an average of US$ 20.4 million to the local GDP and generate US$ 2.82 million in tax revenue.

Ma Yongsheng, president of Sinopec, said, “This pilot project gives full play to Xinjiang’s advantage in its wealth of resources and is a key project for Sinopec to build a No.1 hydrogen energy company.”