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Business of climate change
BusinessChina Business

Climate change: Sinopec sets green hydrogen goals to help China reach carbon neutrality by 2060

  • China’s largest refiner aims to have an installed capacity to produce 120,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year by the end of 2025
  • In March, Beijing introduced the nation’s first hydrogen strategy to develop the industry between 2021 and 2035

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Sinopec Group has charted a course to become China’s largest producer of green hydrogen. Photo: Reuters
Eric Ng
China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group) has announced plans to become China’s biggest hydrogen producer, putting the country on course to achieve its energy transition and climate goals.

The nation’s largest refiner and fuel distributor aims to install a capacity to produce 120,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year by the end of 2025, according to its hydrogen business development strategy released late on Friday.

“The company is targeting to become the largest, technologically leading and best-managed hydrogen company,” in-house website Sinopecnews.com.cn reported. “It will focus on hydrogen refuelling and green hydrogen production to help the transportation sector reduce carbon emissions.”

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Last November, the state-owned company started work on a 3 billion yuan (US$433 million) solar-powered green hydrogen plant in Kuqa, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, billed as the world’s largest. With an annual output capacity of 20,000 tonnes, Sinopec will be able to help cut 485,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year when the plant is completed next June.
China will have at least 50,000 hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles on the road and produce 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2025 as part of its hydrogen strategy unveiled in March. Photo: Shutterstock
China will have at least 50,000 hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles on the road and produce 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2025 as part of its hydrogen strategy unveiled in March. Photo: Shutterstock
Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy through electrolysis that separates water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. Growing production and use of the clean fuel is a key plank of China’s strategy to wean off fossil fuel and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. China is already the world’s largest hydrogen producer with an annual output of 33 million tonnes.
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