Sinopec begins construction of green hydrogen plant

State oil refiner Sinopec Group started the construction of a 20,000 tonnes-per-year green hydrogen plant in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to China’s news agency Xinhua.

The project is worth 3 billion yuan (about 470 million U.S. dollars) within Kuqa City. It includes five parts: photovoltaic power generation, power transformation, electrolytic hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, and hydrogen transportation. It is expected to begin operation in June 2023.

It is designed to replace grey hydrogen, and could help reduce 485,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year, Sinopec Group was quoted in Xinhua.

According to the report by the news agency, a solar station with an installed capacity of 300 megawatts and an average annual power generation capacity of 618 million kilowatt-hours would be constructed to support hydrogen production.

Sinopec Group plans to build 1,000 oil-hydrogen and hydrogen filling stations by 2025.