On March 5, the People’s Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region officially issued the “Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,” clearly listing hydrogen energy storage, rare earth new materials, and green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol as strategic priorities, accelerating the development of the entire industry chain for green hydrogen, and building a nationally important high ground for the energy storage industry, thereby charting a clear path for energy transition and industrial upgrading.
I. Hydrogen Energy Storage: Building the Entire Industry Chain and Sprinting Toward an Energy Storage Scale of 60 million kW
The Outline proposed to expand and strengthen the hydrogen energy storage industry, with the core goals and measures as follows:
- Full-chain deployment of green hydrogen: Accelerate the development of the entire industry chain for green hydrogen—“production, storage, transportation, and use”—and build green hydrogen, green ammonia, and green methanol industry clusters; advance cross-provincial and cross-regional long-distance hydrogen-ammonia-methanol pipeline projects, and moderately make forward-looking arrangements for green hydrogen storage and transportation infrastructure.
- Leap in energy storage scale: Advance pumped-storage hydropower in stages, implement a special action for the large-scale development of new-type energy storage, and build a diversified energy storage system; by the end of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, new-type ESS installations are expected to reach 60 million kW, and demand-side response capability is expected to exceed 5 of the region’s maximum load.
- Coordinated pipeline network upgrade: Optimize the oil and gas pipeline network; by the end of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, natural gas pipeline mileage is expected to exceed 8,000 km, while the green hydrogen storage and transportation network will be improved in parallel.
II. Rare Earth Industry: Extending, Supplementing, and Strengthening the Industry Chain, with a Focus on High-End Materials Such as Hydrogen Storage
The Outline made clear to accelerate extending, supplementing, and strengthening the industry chain for the light rare earth industry, with a focus on developing:
- high-performance magnetic materials, high-performance polishing materials, hydrogen storage materials, catalytic materials and additives, rare earth steel, and other high-end rare earth new materials and end-use applications industries.
- Leveraging its advantages in rare earth resources, it will provide critical material support for industries such as hydrogen energy and new energy, and build a nationally leading base for rare earth new materials.
III. Scientific and Technological Innovation: Focusing on Advantageous Fields Such as Green Hydrogen-Ammonia-Methanol
The Outline proposed to implement a number of major science and technology tasks, focusing on fields including:
- new energy, rare earth new materials, carbon-based new materials, semiconductor new materials, green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol, biopharmaceuticals, biological breeding, and grassland and dairy industries, among others.
- It will deliver more landmark original achievements, providing technological support for the green hydrogen, green ammonia, and green methanol industries.
IV. Significance of the Plan: Anchoring National Strategy and Leading the Energy Transition
This plan closely integrates hydrogen energy, energy storage, rare earths, and green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol. It is not only a key measure to implement the country’s “dual carbon” goals, but also a core lever for Inner Mongolia to leverage its two major strengths in wind and solar power resources and rare earth resources and build a nationally important base for energy and strategic resources. As a number of wind and solar power-based hydrogen production projects, such as the Huadian Darhan Muminggan Banner project, advance, Inner Mongolia is accelerating its transformation from a major energy region into a leading green hydrogen region and an energy storage hub.
