On December 16, 2024, Sinopec announced that China's first factory based seawater hydrogen production research project has been completed in Qingdao. The completion of the project not only provides an exploratory solution for the consumption of renewable green electricity and the production of green hydrogen in coastal areas, but also provides a new possible path for the resource utilization of high salt industrial wastewater.
The project adopts a combination of direct hydrogen production from seawater and green electricity to produce green hydrogen. By utilizing some of the green electricity produced by Qingdao Refining and Chemical Water Photovoltaic Power Station, seawater is decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen through an electrolytic cell, achieving direct electrolysis of seawater to produce green hydrogen. The produced hydrogen gas is integrated into the Qingdao Refining and Chemical Pipeline System for blending into the refining production process or hydrogen vehicle refueling. The project has overcome key technical challenges such as chlorine resistant electrode technology, high-performance electrode plate design, and seawater circulation system.
Liang Feng, a senior expert in the development plan of Sinopec Qingdao Refining and Chemical, said that the so-called factory based approach means that it is closely integrated with our production, and its supply engineering and product delivery are closely linked to our factory's pipeline network. The project can produce 20 cubic meters of green hydrogen per hour, which is the first factory scale seawater hydrogen production project in China to be directly implemented in a petrochemical park and achieve product recycling and application in industrial processes.
Compared to traditional electrolysis of water for hydrogen production technology, its high dependence on scarce clean freshwater resources poses limitations on the large-scale development of the hydrogen energy industry. However, hydrogen production from seawater faces more complex challenges: the salt content of about 3% in seawater and the chloride ions in impurities can cause corrosion to the electrodes of electrolysis equipment, and the deposition of cations may block the equipment pores, reduce electrolysis efficiency, and even damage the equipment. These all put forward higher requirements for equipment design and technical processes.
Liang Feng, Senior Expert of Sinopec Qingdao Refining and Chemical Development Plan: Through the research and development of specially designed key equipment and special process flow, we explore and solve the above problems. The hydrogen produced is connected to the grid nearby, achieving a highly coupled interconnection between scientific research and application scenarios. The project explores the recycling and reuse of process products in the experiment, reducing the release loss of the process, and has a good demonstration and leading role in environmental protection, energy conservation, and consumption reduction.
China is accelerating the research on seawater hydrogen production technology. Against the backdrop of global energy transition and climate change response, hydrogen energy, as a clean and efficient energy carrier, is gradually becoming a research hotspot in the global energy field. And seawater hydrogen production technology, as an innovative way of hydrogen energy production, has received widespread attention.
In recent years, China has initiated relevant research work in the field of seawater hydrogen production technology and made progress, accelerating the industrialization process. China's coastal areas and seas have abundant wind, solar, and seawater resources, which have the resource advantage of producing green hydrogen from green electricity.
The direct electrolysis of seawater for hydrogen production can convert unstable and difficult to store green electricity resources into relatively easy to store and consume green hydrogen resources on site, eliminating the need to occupy valuable freshwater resources. This opens up new avenues for the efficient utilization of green electricity and the development of the hydrogen energy industry in coastal areas and even at sea.
Lin Weibin, Director of the Energy Policy Research Office of the China Energy Research Association: China has the world's largest installed capacity of renewable energy, and by 2030, the installed capacity of hydrogen production from renewable energy may exceed 100 million kilowatts. By 2060, the production of green hydrogen may approach 100 million tons. Including the installed capacity of using hydrogen energy to generate electricity, it is possible to exceed 100 million kilowatts. With the continuous maturity of technology and the gradual reduction of costs, seawater hydrogen production technology is expected to achieve large-scale industrial applications in the future.
At present, China is accelerating the research on seawater hydrogen production technology. Domestic universities and research institutions are actively conducting technological breakthroughs in the field of seawater hydrogen production. The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration released the "Medium - and Long Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035)" in 2022, which proposes to promote the research and development of new technologies related to hydrogen energy such as seawater hydrogen production. At present, China's hydrogen energy patents rank first in the world, and breakthroughs have been made in technologies such as green hydrogen production, hydrogen fuel cells, and high flow hydrogen refueling station control systems.
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