YINCHUAN: On the western edge of Maowusu, one of China’s major deserts, stands a factory making a kind of clean energy to replace coal — hydrogen.
The factory, in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is dubbed “super” because it is purely powered by solar energy from a vast photovoltaics (PV) field which sits adjacent. In the near future, its annual capacity is expected to reach 2.45 million tonnes of hydrogen from electrolyzed water.
The Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base, where the factory is located, is among China’s top 10 energy and chemical industry bases in terms of production capacity. It used to rely entirely on Ningxia’s rich coal resources, producing 4 million tonnes of fuel each year.
As China pushes for green and low-carbon development, the base has been searching for an alternative resource to optimize the energy structure, and hydrogen became the preferred option.
Ouyang Minggao, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Tsinghua University, believes that the development of hydrogen fits into China’s broader energy strategy and the industry is expected to enter the peak of its development in the next five to 10 years.
According to Tao Shaohua, an official at the base, by adopting high technology and clean energy, the base cut coal use by 400,000 tonnes last year, thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 900,000 tonnes. As a major power supplier to eastern China, Ningxia has been shifting from a coal-dominated energy structure to a more green, sustainable pattern, betting on its abundant solar and wind resources. –Agencies
