Sinopec starts building green hydrogen production unit
China’s Sinopec has started construction on a green hydrogen plant that will replace a dirtier production unit through a $470mn investment, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported November 30.
The nation’s largest oil refiner, the China Petrochemical Corp., known commonly as Sinopec, said it started construction on a green hydrogen plant that could produce some 20,000 mt/yr of H2, Xinhua reported.
The company expects production to start in June 2023. It would replace a grey hydrogen unit, which uses a steam reformation process involving natural gas without companion carbon storage. Sinopec expects the green process to abate 458,000 mt/yr of CO2.
Green hydrogen production involves an electrolyser powered by renewable energy that can split water into its elemental components. A solar station with installed capacity of 300 MW of annual power generation would facilitate green hydrogen production at a plant in the autonomous Xinjiang region of northwest China.
Sinopec in September said it planned to make carbon-neutral gasoline and diesel products available to the public at designated gas stations.
Elsewhere, to offset the carbon emissions produced throughout the life cycle of the shipment of oil, Sinopec, Cosco Shipping and China Eastern Airlines implemented energy saving and emission reduction strategies, purchased Chinese Certified Emission Reduction carbon credits and hired SEEE as the carbon-neutral certification authority.