China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation announced that the green H₂ pilot project constructed by the company in Kuqa City of Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has commenced operation. The official operation of the plant, which harnesses solar energy to generate green H₂, marks a major stride forward in Sinopec's technological exploration to produce clean H₂ as it empowers the country to transition to a greener and more sustainable energy system.

Spearheaded by Sinopec's New Star Company, the mega project is the largest solar-to-H₂ project in the world and the first of its kind in China that is equipped with a photovoltaic power generation complex, power transmission and transformation lines, as well as facilities for water electrolysis H₂ production, H₂ storage and transportation and supporting auxiliary production.

Green H₂ is produced by facilities powered by renewable power sources such as solar and wind energy, minimizing the carbon footprint across the entire production process. The project takes advantage of the wealth of photovoltaic resources in Kuqa to achieve 20,000 tpy of green H₂ by using solar power to electrolyze water, along with the capacity to store 210,000 m³ of H₂ and transport 28,000 m³/hr.

As a demonstration project that serves to carve out a new path for green H₂ refining and provide an exemplary model for green H₂ production in China, the project supplies H₂ to Sinopec's Tahe Refining & Chemical to remove its fossil fuel-based electricity used for H₂ production, which is expected to help it reduce 485,000 tpy of CO₂ emissions.

With a focus on H₂-powered transportation and green H₂ refining, Sinopec aims to launch itself to become a new energy powerhouse that pioneers H₂ production innovation in China, facilitating China and beyond to achieve low-carbon targets in the coming years. With an annual H₂ production and utilization capacity exceeding 4.5 MMt, Sinopec's self-developed megawatt-scale PEM electrolysis H₂ production station has entered operation, and its first H₂ demonstration project in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which is expected to produce 30,000 metric tpy of H₂, has been launched in 2023.