Recently, the high-proportion green hydrogen coupled coal-to-synthetic ammonia industrial demonstration project of CHN Energy Ningxia Coal Industry achieved milestone progress. As of August 14, the project had cumulatively consumed 21,386,400 standard cubic meters of green hydrogen, produced 10,800 tonnes of green ammonia, and achieved equivalent carbon dioxide emission reduction of 36,500 tonnes, making it the first industrial demonstration project in China to achieve stable coupling operation of high-proportion green hydrogen with coal-to-synthetic ammonia.
The successful operation of this project marks a technological breakthrough in China’s PV renewable hydrogen coupled coal-to-synthetic ammonia field, providing a new practical case for the traditional coal chemical industry to explore green and low-carbon transformation paths.
In recent years, Ningxia Coal Industry has been advancing the green upgrade of the traditional coal chemical industry around the "dual carbon" strategic goals, prioritizing energy conservation, carbon reduction, and energy structure optimization as key directions for enterprise high-quality developmen. By promoting the integrated development of green electricity, green hydrogen, and the coal chemical industry, it is accelerating the construction of a low-carbon, intelligent new-type industrial model.
It is reported that since September 2024, the Olefin II Company of Ningxia Coal Industry has officially connected the green hydrogen produced by the Qingshuiying Hydrogen Production Plant. Leveraging the abundant solar resources in the Ningdong area and the industrial synergy advantages of the energy chemical base, the Qingshuiying Hydrogen Plant adopts PV DC electrolysis hydrogen production technology, equipped with 16 alkaline electrolyzers, with a designed green hydrogen access capacity of up to 15,000 standard meters per hour.
After purification, the green hydrogen produced by the project reaches a purity of 99,999%, and is then transported via hydrogen pipeline to Olefin II Company, where it undergoes a mixed reaction with nitrogen from the air separation unit of the coal-to-oil project, finally used to produce liquid ammonia, achieving effective integration of green hydrogen resources with coal chemical production facilities.
To address operational challenges such as fluctuations in PV power generation and the intermittence of green hydrogen supply, Ningxia Coal Industry established a green hydrogen reception and emergency management mechanism, improving system operation stability by dynamically adjusting production parameters and optimizing the hydrogen ratio in coal-to-oil, thereby ensuring continuous production of the synthetic ammonia unit. Meanwhile, Olefin II Company and Qingshuiying Hydrogen Plant completed a 72-hour continuous performance test of green hydrogen, successfully verifying the unit’s maximum green hydrogen reception capacity of 15,000 standard cubic meters per hour, achieving full-load stable operation.
As the first demonstration project of CHN Energy covering synergistic integration of multiple business areas including hydrogen energy, new energy, coal chemical, and coal transportation, this project achieves stable coupling of PV green hydrogen with the coal chemical production system, and is also the first green hydrogen coupled coal-to-synthetic ammonia demonstration project for Ningxia Coal Industry.
Industry insiders believe that the impleentation of this project not only fills the technological gap in China for applying PV renewable hydrogen to coal-to-synthetic ammonia, but also provides demonstration exerience for the upgrade of the traditional coal chemical industry toward green, high-end, intelligent, and integrated development. In the future, with continuous impovemente of green hydrogen production technology and industrial supporting systems, the application space of green hydrogen in industrial decarbonization is expected to further expand.
