Tracking Green Hydrogen Projects—The First Demonstration Project for Hydrogen Production from Desulfurization Wastewater at a Thermal Power Plant by Dongfang Electric (Fujian) Innovation Research Institute Is Expected to Launch

Recently, the Dongfang Electric (Fujian) Innovation Research Institute (referred to as the Dongfu Research Institute) achieved key breakthroughs in two cutting-edge fields: first, the construction of the nation's first multi-factor coupled real marine environment test platform for electrical equipment; second, the development of "hydrogen production via electrolysis from refractory industrial wastewater" technology, with a demonstration project for hydrogen production from desulfurization wastewater in thermal power plants expected to launch soon. Its achievements are a typical microcosm of how the innovation ecosystem of the Fuzhou Science and Technology Innovation Corridor drives the industrialisation of science and technology.

I. Core Scientific Research Breakthroughs: Two Major Achievements Leading Industrial Upgrading

1. Marine Environment Test Platform: Filling the Gap in Material Aging Assessment

Project Background and Principal Entities: Jointly developed by the Dongfu Research Institute, Dongfang Electric Machinery, and the 725th Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, it was put into operation in Fujian at the end of August 2025. It is the nation's first multi-factor coupled real marine environment test platform for new materials and components in the electrical equipment field.

Platform Features and Capabilities: Covering an area of 190 m², it features a hemispherical structure, integrating multi-factor aging, online monitoring, protection, and marine environment simulation devices. It can simultaneously simulate the marine environment and monitor aging factor parameters such as temperature, humidity, and salt spray in real-time. As thenation's first integrated coupling device for marine environment and electrical stress, it solves the problem of distortion in material failure mechanisms caused by the separation of environmental factors and electrical stress in traditional tests.

Application and Significance: Upon commissioning, it commenced a 2,000-hour high-voltage power test on insulating materials. It can scientifically reveal material failure mechanisms under the synergistic action of multiple factors, filling a technological gap in China's related fields and providing crucial support for material R&D in equipment for offshore wind power and marine engineering.

2. Industrial Wastewater-to-Hydrogen Technology: Pioneering a New Path of "Turning Waste into Energy"

This technology innovatively breaks through the traditional reliance on high-purity water for hydrogen production via electrolysis, enabling the direct resource utilization of industrial wastewater. It has completed validation in multiple scenarios and is advancing towards more complex fields.

Core Technological Advantages:

It innovatively integrates high-throughput membrane mass transfer, low-temperature waste heat utilization, and electrolysis processes, adopting an "ALK+PEM" hybrid hydrogen production mode, effectively armoring the equipment with "anti-fouling protection," and even converting specific components in the wastewater into "helpers" for the hydrogen production reaction.

It overcomes bottlenecks of traditional alkaline electrolyzers, such as poor resistance to fluctuations, difficulty in treating high-salinity water, and challenges in waste heat reuse, enabling the direct use of non-freshwater and accommodating fluctuations in wind and solar power, significantly reducing the cost of green hydrogen.

Implementation and Progression Timeline:

Validation in Oil and Gas Field Scenarios: In May 2024, the seawater hydrogen production technology from Academician Xie Heping's team was extended to the industrial wastewater domain. A "field test of hydrogen production via electrolysis from gas field produced water without purification" was successfully completed in the Sulige Gas Field in Inner Mongolia, operating stably for 330 hours and certified as domestically leading. Recently, a larger-scale cooperation project was signed with PetroChina's Changqing Oilfield, aiding the green development of oil and gas fields.

Tackling Thermal Power Scenarios: Aiming at desulfurization wastewater from thermal power plants, which is extremely complex in composition and highly corrosive (traditional treatment methods are costly and prone to secondary pollution), key breakthroughs have been made in anti-pollution materials and reactor design. The first demonstration project for hydrogen production via electrolysis of desulfurization wastewater is expected to launch soon. If successfully promoted, it could solve the problem of treating millions of mt of wastewater annually from coal-fired power plants across the country, while also producing high-value hydrogen, achieving a win-win for the environment and energy.

II. Innovation Ecosystem Support: The "Transformation Code" of Fuzhou's Science and Innovation Corridor

The successful implementation of Dongfu Research Institute's achievements can be attributed to the full-chain innovation ecosystem built by Fuzhou's science and innovation corridor, encompassing "platform + mechanism + finance + talent."

Platform Foundation Building: Leveraging intellectual resources from universities and research institutes, high-end platforms such as the Mindu Innovation Laboratory and Dongfu Research Institute have been established, along with 521 public R&D service platforms, promoting the transformation of results in fields like optoelectronic information and marine engineering equipment, incubating high-tech enterprises, and driving the Fujian Three Gorges Industrial Park to become a national high-end marine engineering equipment manufacturing park.

Empowerment through Mechanism Innovation: Promoting joint efforts between universities and enterprises through the "challenge-based selection" approach; hosting 23 "direct express for technology transfer" events via a technology transfer app, precisely matching over a hundred outcomes with market demands.

Nourishment from Financial Resources: Establishing a 1.5 billion yuan special fund for scientific and technological innovation, cumulatively investing 1.553 billion yuan in 89 projects; four financial institutions providing 40 billion yuan in credit support, alleviating the financial pressure on enterprises.

Support from Talent Aggregation: Attracting talents through actions like "Gather in Fuzhou during the Best Years" and comprehensive policies, the science and innovation corridor has gathered over 15,000 high-level talents, forming a virtuous cycle of "talent aggregation - innovation breakthrough - industrial upgrading."

III. Industrial and Social Significance

Technical Value: The marine environmental testing platform provides core testing methods for the reliability of marine equipment; the technology for hydrogen production from wastewater disrupts traditional wastewater treatment models, transforming "energy-consuming pollution control" into "capacity-building carbon reduction," offering a new solution for reducing the cost of green hydrogen and integrating wind and solar power.

Demonstration Significance: This not only demonstrates China's independent innovation capabilities in the fields of new energy equipment and environmental protection technologies but also, through the model of "research breakthrough + ecological support," provides a replicable "Fuzhou sample" for the industrialisation of scientific and technological achievements, injecting green momentum into the national "dual carbon" goals.