Tracking Green Hydrogen Projects—Completion of Commissioning for China Three Gorges Group's First Green Hydrogen "Production, Storage, Transportation, and Refueling" Project, Establishing a Demonstration Benchmark for "Hydrogen-Electric Coupling"

Recently, the first green hydrogen "production-storage-transportation-refueling" integrated comprehensive demonstration project of China Three Gorges Corporation was successfully commissioned at the Inner Mongolia Three Gorges Ulanqab Generation-Grid-Load-Storage Technology R&D Test Base. Developed under the leadership of the China Three Gorges Corporation Science and Technology Research Institute, the project fully covers key links such as water electrolysis for hydrogen production, diversified storage and transportation, hydrogen fuel cell power generation, and hydrogen refueling, establishing a full-process closed loop of "green electricity to hydrogen—diversified storage and transportation—multi-scenario application," making it a green hydrogen "testing ground" focused on technology verification and model innovation.

Located in Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia, which is rich in solar and wind energy resources, the project explores the integrated development of the green hydrogen industry chain and "generation-grid-load-storage," creating a new model of "hydrogen-electricity coupling." On-site researchers stated that hydrogen can serve as both a "load" and a "storage" within the entire industry chain platform. Through deep coupling with hydrogen storage equipment and fuel cells, it enables large-scale, long-duration stable storage of new energy, forming a complementary and synergistic relationship with electrochemical energy storage, thereby enhancing the new energy consumption and supply system.

Key Technological Breakthroughs Across Multiple Segments to Meet Diverse Scenario Needs

• Hydrogen Production Segment: The project utilizes proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis equipment, designed to meet new energy consumption and industrial park load regulation demands. It features second-level response capability, effectively adapting to the intermittency and volatility of wind and solar resources.

• Storage and Transportation Segment: Addressing challenges such as low hydrogen density, difficult storage/transportation, and high costs, the project employs a multi-pressure level hydrogen storage system. It concurrently constructs a cryogenic liquid hydrogen tank meeting 7-day storage requirements, exploring a technical pathway combining high-pressure gaseous hydrogen and liquid hydrogen for storage and transportation.

• Refueling and Application Segment: A hydrogen refueling test platform adaptable to low-temperature conditions of -30 degrees Celsius was built to verify operational reliability under extreme conditions. It achieves fully automated control throughout the "startup-operation-shutdown" process and supports testing needs for hydrogen refueling stations at two mainstream pressure levels: 35 MPa and 70 MPa. A supporting 200 kW/120-hour hydrogen fuel cell combined heat and power energy storage system was also constructed to validate the potential of green hydrogen as a zero-carbon energy source.

It is reported that, leveraging this test base, the China Three Gorges Corporation Science and Technology Research Institute has secured several national-level demonstration projects. The successful commissioning of this green hydrogen "production-storage-transportation-refueling" project will provide crucial technical support and practical experience for accelerating the construction of a new-type power system, contributing to the high-quality development of China's hydrogen energy industry.