The programme positions China to expand its lead in the hydrogen market.
The strategy includes 11 categories of pilot projects, focusing on production, storage and transportation, end-use applications, integrated hubs, and research and development. A primary objective is the establishment of large-scale green hydrogen facilities. Each facility must have at least 100MW of capacity or produce over 20,000 normal cubic metres (Nm³) of hydrogen per hour. These facilities may draw up to 20% of their power from the grid and are required to maintain a minimum operational load of 50%.
China has already made significant strides in green hydrogen, such as Envision Energy’s 500MW project in Chifeng, which commenced operations last year. The plan also encourages off-grid green hydrogen production for use in remote environments, including deep-sea locations. These off-grid projects must have a minimum electrolyser capacity of 10MW.
Additionally, the plan supports “clean and low-carbon” hydrogen production pilots. These projects are intended to utilize industrial by-product hydrogen or incorporate carbon capture and storage for hydrogen derived from fossil fuels. Each of these projects must be capable of producing at least 5,000Nm³ of hydrogen per hour.
For transportation, pilot projects must involve long-distance pipelines of at least 100km or vehicles with the capacity to transport a minimum of 600kg of hydrogen. Hydrogen liquefaction plants taking part in the pilots should have a processing capacity of no less than five tonnes per day.
Storage projects must feature a minimum capacity of 20,000Nm³. The initiative also includes pilots for hydrogen application in key sectors such as refining, power generation, energy storage, and fuel cells.
Refining pilots are required to produce at least 1,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of renewable hydrogen. Fuel cell demonstration projects must have a capacity of no less than 0.5MW. Power generation projects will include gas turbines of at least 10MW that operate with a 15% blend of hydrogen or ammonia, and coal-fired boilers of at least 300MW using a 10% hydrogen or ammonia mix.
Long-term energy storage pilot projects must provide an output of at least 1MW and sustain full-load operation for a minimum of four hours.
This wide-ranging programme is expected to accelerate the development of China’s hydrogen value chain and enhance its capabilities in clean energy innovation.
