Boao Forum for Asia | Establishing a Supply-Demand Relationship for Green Hydrogen and Discussing New Practices in Innovative and Green Development

Against the backdrop of the energy revolution, the development of green renewable energy is receiving increasing attention. During the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia, the sub-forum titled “Building a Supply-Demand Relationship for Green Hydrogen” became a focal point of attention.

Deng Jianling, General Manager of China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. and Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, attended and delivered a speech via video link at the sub-forum titled “Building Supply-Demand Relationships for Green Hydrogen” in Beijing.

Deng Jianling stated that China Huaneng attaches great importance to the energy system transformation brought about by the future large-scale development of hydrogen energy. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the company plans to build the hydrogen energy industry into a key strategic pillar for its green development. Currently, China Huaneng is stepping up R&D investment in green hydrogen technologies, taking the lead in launching demonstration projects for off-grid wind-powered dynamic hydrogen production, actively developing large-scale hydropower-to-hydrogen demonstration projects, and steadily advancing demonstration efforts in hydrogen fuel cell technology research and development. The global consensus is to vigorously develop renewable energy sources, and hydrogen energy plays an irreplaceable role in linking renewable energy storage and regulating energy supply. The green hydrogen industry is a highly promising sector that will bring tremendous business opportunities for future economic transformation and development.

According to estimates by the China Hydrogen Energy Alliance, by 2025, the output value of China's hydrogen energy industry will reach 1 trillion yuan. By 2050, hydrogen demand will approach 60 million tons, resulting in a reduction of approximately 700 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Hydrogen will account for over 10% of China's final energy system, and the annual output value of the hydrogen energy industrial chain will reach 12 trillion yuan, making it a new growth engine driving economic development.

Sun Wei, General Manager of Baoguang Lianyue Hydrogen Energy Development Co., Ltd., said in an interview with a reporter that the hydrogen energy industry chain encompasses numerous links and application scenarios, offering vast room for growth. Driven by the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, China’s hydrogen energy industry is entering a fast-track phase of development. Many regions have already released hydrogen energy industry plans, accelerating the deployment of this emerging sector. The trillion-yuan hydrogen energy market is drawing intense attention, and numerous companies are rapidly stepping up their efforts to establish a foothold in this field.

As various parties accelerate their efforts to establish a foothold in the industry, some “pain points” facing the development of the hydrogen energy sector are also drawing attention. Among these, reducing the cost of hydrogen production is an issue that cannot be avoided.

Using renewable energy to electrolyze water for hydrogen production is currently the process with the lowest carbon emissions among the many existing hydrogen production methods.

Currently, the cost of producing green hydrogen has fallen below 10 yuan per kilogram, and in the future, these costs are expected to drop even further. At present, key challenges in the development of the hydrogen economy include hydrogen storage, transportation, downstream applications, and pipeline-based hydrogen refueling—each of which represents a lengthy and complex process. In the storage and transportation stage, China currently relies predominantly on 20 MPa high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage and long-tube trailer transport, with costs around 20 yuan per kilogram, accounting for half of the final consumer price of hydrogen. However, gaseous hydrogen storage and transportation suffer from low volumetric energy density and high compression energy consumption, making them suitable only for hydrogen refueling stations with daily demand below 300 kilograms and relatively short transportation distances. As China’s hydrogen consumption scales up and transportation distances increase in the future, 50 MPa high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage or liquid hydrogen transport will become essential to meet the demands for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Industry experts believe that hydrogen production must be integrated and developed in a coordinated, end-to-end manner with hydrogen storage, transportation, and utilization.