Today (April 16), China National Petroleum Corporation announced a breakthrough in the technology of long-distance hydrogen transportation using existing natural gas pipelines.

　　This provides technical support for China's future large-scale and low-cost long-distance hydrogen energy transportation.

　　At the Ningdong natural gas hydrogen blending pipeline demonstration platform in Yinchuan, Ningxia, reporters witnessed the pressurization and testing of hydrogen transportation through natural gas pipelines. Staff told reporters that natural gas hydrogen blending technology involves mixing hydrogen gas into natural gas at a certain volume ratio and transporting it using existing natural gas pipelines.

　　Currently, the hydrogen proportion in this natural gas pipeline has gradually reached 24%, meaning that for every 100 cubic meters of hydrogen-blended natural gas transported, 24 cubic meters are hydrogen. After 100 days of test operation, the 397-kilometer-long natural gas pipeline has operated safely and stably.

　　Experts calculated for reporters that by the end of 2022, the total mileage of China's oil and gas pipelines reached 185,000 kilometers. Based on China's current natural gas consumption, when the hydrogen blending ratio reaches 20%, more than 10 million tons of hydrogen can be transported, equivalent to more than 560 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity, and the cost of hydrogen will also significantly decrease.

　　Currently, road transportation is still the mainstream method for long-distance hydrogen transportation in China, but this method is expensive and inefficient, and is one of the main reasons for the high cost of end-use hydrogen, hindering the development of the industry chain.

　　The first "West-to-East Hydrogen Transportation" pipeline demonstration project

　　One pipeline transporting both natural gas and hydrogen, achieving two goals simultaneously and significantly reducing costs. This is undoubtedly good news for the future development of China's hydrogen industry.

　　In fact, a few days ago, we also reported on China's first "West-to-East Hydrogen Transportation" pipeline demonstration project, which has been included in the implementation plan for the construction of the "national single network" of oil and natural gas.

　　The planned starting point of the pipeline is located in Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the end point is Yanshan Petrochemical in Beijing, with a total length of over 400 kilometers. The first-phase capacity is 100,000 tons per year, making it China's first cross-provincial, large-scale, long-distance pure hydrogen transportation pipeline.

　　After completion, the pipeline will be used to replace the existing fossil energy-based hydrogen production in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and will have important demonstration significance for the construction of cross-regional hydrogen transportation networks. Why has hydrogen become the focus of attention? Let's first learn about "hydrogen" through a short video.

　　What is Hydrogen?

　　Hydrogen balloons and liquid hydrogen used as fuel in aerospace are familiar to everyone. However, hydrogen does not exist independently in nature; it must be obtained from hydrogen-containing substances such as water and fossil fuels.

　　According to the formation process of hydrogen energy, it is generally divided into gray hydrogen, blue hydrogen, and green hydrogen. Gray hydrogen is mainly produced by burning fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, and produces carbon dioxide emissions during production. Currently, the vast majority of hydrogen on the market is gray hydrogen, accounting for about 95% of global hydrogen production. Blue hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced from fossil fuels using carbon capture measures, significantly reducing carbon emissions. Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen obtained by using renewable energy to decompose water.

　　Hydrogen is a very clean energy source, colorless, odorless, non-toxic, and only produces water after electrochemical reaction, with zero emissions, and can be recycled.

　　China Focuses on Hydrogen Energy Industry, Development Potential Gradually Released

　　Because hydrogen is a very clean energy source, the development of hydrogen energy is considered an important path for clean energy transformation and achieving carbon neutrality.

　　In recent years, China has focused on the layout of the hydrogen energy industry, and the development potential of the hydrogen energy industry is gradually being released.

　　Since 2019, China's hydrogen industry has entered a fast lane of development. On March 23, 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "Medium and Long-Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035)", proposing to establish a "1+N" policy system, clarifying the strategic positioning of hydrogen energy, and deploying key tasks for industrial development.

　　By the end of 2022, local governments in China had issued more than 300 hydrogen energy policies, with diverse policy types and support directions expanding from hydrogen energy transportation applications to cross-industry coupled application scenarios. At the same time, enterprises are also taking active actions. Currently, more than 1/3 of central enterprises have deployed development in the hydrogen industry chain, covering important energy fields such as coal, electricity, and nuclear energy.

　　The "China Oil and Gas Industry Analysis and Prospect Blue Book" shows that in 2022, the number of hydrogen refueling stations deployed globally reached 814, with China building and operating 274 hydrogen refueling stations, a year-on-year increase of 25.7%, ranking first in the world and accounting for 33.7% of the global total.