Inner Mongolia, Ningxia integrating emissions-free fuels as part of low-carbon transition

Editor's note: China Daily is publishing a series illustrating the country's efforts to achieve its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

The Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions have made substantial progress in developing green hydrogen made from renewable energy, capitalizing on their abundant renewable energy resources to meet the needs of the local and nearby markets.

Government bodies in both regions have urged for the implementation of supportive policies, standardized technical guidelines and safety regulations at the national level to promote further growth of the carbon dioxide-free green fuel.

Inner Mongolia, with its vast wind and solar resources, has positioned itself as a leader in green hydrogen production. It can annually produce 60,000 metric tons of green hydrogen, according to the region's energy administration.

READ MORE: Green hydrogen and methanol touted for big roles in decarbonization

The region has over half of the nation's wind energy resources and more than a fifth of its solar energy resources, said Zhao Junpeng, deputy head of the science and equipment department at Inner Mongolia's energy administration.

This allows for low-cost hydrogen production, which is crucial for meeting the high demand in nearby markets like the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and Ningxia, he said.

Since 2022, the government in Inner Mongolia has introduced 14 policies covering various aspects of the hydrogen industry, from production and storage to transportation. These policies include reducing red tape for green hydrogen projects operating outside chemical parks, he added.

Inner Mongolia has been proactively integrating the development of green hydrogen with various industries, including transportation, metal smelting and coal chemicals, said Zhao. Over 400 hydrogen-fueled vehicles have been put into operation in the region, and a hydrogen-powered train has successfully completed a trial run.

Zhao noted a series of measures to further boost the development of green hydrogen in Inner Mongolia.

As the region advances the low-carbon transformation of coal-fired power generation, the region will implement the co-firing of more than 10 percent of green hydrogen with coal in the sector, he said.

Focusing on developing a complete green hydrogen industry chain from production to storage and transportation, the region aims to create a leading green hydrogen industry zone.

Ningxia is also making significant strides in green hydrogen development, with a production capacity of 26,600 metric tons supported by four renewable energy hydrogen projects, according to a statement from Ningxia's development and reform commission, responding to questions from China Daily.

A series of efforts have been made in Ningxia to expand the application of hydrogen, it said.

In the Ningdong Energy Chemical Industry Base, 31 hydrogen-powered vehicles — 25 heavy-duty trucks, two buses and four street sweepers — are in use, the commission said. To date, these heavy-duty trucks have transported 85,000 tons of cargo. Compared to their oil-fueled counterparts, they have mitigated 790 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

The region has also launched projects to demonstrate the integration of hydrogen into natural gas for consumption, it added.

The commission, however, also noted a series of challenges for green hydrogen development.

"Although the hydrogen energy industry in our country has entered a period of rapid development and is gaining significant attention, the development pathways, key technologies and business models are still largely in the exploration, testing and research stages," it said.

At the national level, it said, there is a lack of unified technical guidelines and safety regulatory standards for various stages of hydrogen development, including production, storage, transportation and utilization.

Additionally, there are no specific measures in place for policies supporting the hydrogen energy industry, resulting in low investment enthusiasm from enterprises, the commission added.

It also highlighted the high cost as another major factor hindering green hydrogen development.

"Hydrogen, when used as an energy source, incurs high costs in production, transportation and application. Reducing the production costs of green hydrogen is essential for advancing the hydrogen energy industry," it noted.

The cost of purified hydrogen produced through coal gasification is typically 11 yuan ($1.5) per kilogram, while hydrogen derived from methanol is priced at 22 yuan per kg, it said. The average cost of hydrogen production through electrolysis using renewable energy sources, however, reaches around 30 yuan per kg.

This sentiment is reinforced by the energy administration of Ejin Horoo Banner in Inner Mongolia, where green hydrogen projects with a collective capacity to annually produce 10,000 tons of green hydrogen have been approved and are currently under construction.

It said the lack of integration in the production, storage, distribution and utilization of hydrogen has resulted in high cumulative costs across these processes, impeding its industrial-scale development.

ALSO READ: China's largest offshore solar-hydrogen farm starts operation

The lack of developed infrastructure for hydrogen energy, specifically in terms of storage and transportation facilities, is also hindering its widespread market adoption.

The administration called for a series of measures at the national level to address the problem.

Increased investment should be allocated to universities, research institutions and enterprises to bolster their research and development endeavors, ultimately leading to a reduction in technological costs, it said.

More efforts should be made to attract high-level talents, teams and entrepreneurs to be devoted to developing key technologies for green hydrogen production, so as to enhance technological innovation, the administration said.

"The country should improve infrastructure construction planning, coordinate national initiatives in developing green hydrogen storage, transportation and other infrastructure, and implement policies to encourage social capital participation," the statement said, adding the national policy support for the sector should be enhanced to ensure stability, continuity and coordination.