On 27 April, as a hydrogen tube trailer loaded with high-purity green hydrogen slowly exited the factory area of the Huadian Delingha PEM Water Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production Demonstration Project, Qinghai Province's first green electricity-to-hydrogen project, the "Huadian Delingha PEM Water Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production Demonstration Project", officially announced the commercial operation and hydrogen delivery. This not only marks a significant breakthrough in China's green hydrogen production technology in high-altitude and cold regions, but also injects strong momentum into the development of the entire hydrogen industry chain on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and even in western China as the "first order of plateau green hydrogen", becoming a vivid footnote to the green energy transition under the "dual carbon" goals.
Project Overview
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Project Name: Huadian Delingha PEM Water Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production Demonstration Project.
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Project Location: Delingha City, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province.
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Project Entity: Huadian Qinghai Company.
Project Scale and Investment
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Hydrogen Production Scale: 600 Nm³/h, with an annual hydrogen production capacity of 153 mt.
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Total Investment: RMB 150 million.
Project Technology
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Hydrogen Production Technology: Adopting internationally advanced PEM water electrolysis technology, replacing traditional alkaline electrolyzers with perfluorosulfonic acid proton exchange membranes, offering significant advantages such as high hydrogen purity (99.999%), low energy consumption, and fast response speed.
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Collaborative Control System: In response to the extreme environmental conditions in Delingha, with an altitude of 3,000 meters, annual average sunshine exceeding 3,000 hours, and a diurnal temperature variation exceeding 30°C, an innovative "PV-hydrogen-storage" collaborative control system was developed, overcoming world-class challenges such as electrolysis efficiency degradation and poor equipment weather resistance in high-altitude regions.
Project Construction and Operation
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Construction Period: Construction commenced on 3 November 2,022, with official commissioning on 28 September 2,023, completion of a 72-hour continuous trial run on 6 April 2,024, and achievement of commercial operation and hydrogen delivery on 27 April 2,025.
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Supporting Facilities: Construction of a hydrogen refuelling station with a capacity of 500 kg/day (12 hours), equipped with three sets of megawatt-class PEM water electrolysis and 20 MPa hydrogen filling systems.
Project Significance
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Energy Transition: Promoting the transition of the energy structure from "fossil fuel-dominated" to "green hydrogen-supported", aiding in the achievement of the "dual carbon" goals.
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Industrial Development: Injecting strong momentum into the development of the entire hydrogen industry chain on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and even in western China, promoting local economic development.
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Technological Innovation: Resolving the "bottleneck" issues of localisation for key core materials and equipment such as proton exchange membranes and gas diffusion layers, with significant scientific and industrial demonstration significance.
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Consumption Challenges: Overcoming the dual dilemmas of "difficult green electricity consumption" and "expensive industrial hydrogen use" in north-west China.
