2024 Hydrogen Energy Industry Special Report: Hydrogen Energy Explosion, Infrastructure First, What Is the Process of Localization of Storage and Transportation Equipment?
First, the hydrogen energy strategy has become a consensus, and the policy promotes the outbreak of hydrogen energy
(1) Green hydrogen: an option for energy transition
It is estimated that by 2050, the global hydrogen market size will reach 5~800 million tons. Global hydrogen consumption in 2022 was about 95 million tons, up 3% year-on-year. Refining and industrial hydrogen is the largest downstream of hydrogen. According to IEA data, of the 95 million tonnes of hydrogen demand in 2023, 42 million tonnes will be used for petroleum refining and 53 million tonnes for industrial hydrogen (including 33 million tonnes for ammonia, 15 million tonnes for methanol and 5 million tonnes for DRI ironmaking). The IEA predicts that the demand for hydrogen will increase to 1 in 2030. 500 million tonnes, an increase of about 40% from today, and the world needs 527 million tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen by 2050. Bloomberg New Energy expects the world to need 798 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2050, which is the most optimistic.
It is estimated that in 2060, China will supply 85.8 million tons of hydrogen, with green hydrogen accounting for 89.5%. According to the China Coal Association, China produced 40.04 million tons of hydrogen in 2022, making it the world's largest hydrogen producer. With the continuous promotion of the "dual carbon" strategy, it is expected that the demand for hydrogen will continue to grow. According to Sinopec's China Energy Outlook 2060, China's total hydrogen supply will reach 85.8 million tonnes in 2060. The penetration rate of green hydrogen is increasing rapidly, and China's green hydrogen supply will reach 3 million tons and 11.88 million tons in 2030 and 2035. In 2060, the supply of green hydrogen will reach 76.8 million tons, accounting for 89.5%.
At present, more than 99% of the world's hydrogen is gray hydrogen, and green hydrogen and blue hydrogen together account for less than 1%. China is rich in coal resources, and coal is the main raw material for the preparation of hydrogen. According to the statistics of Sinopec Economic and Technical Research Institute, in 2022, China's coal-to-hydrogen production accounted for 58.9%, high-temperature and medium-low temperature coking by-product hydrogen accounted for about 20.0%, natural gas accounted for about 16.3%, methanol and light alkane to olefins by-product tail gas accounted for about 3.3% of hydrogen, and water electrolysis accounted for only 1.5%. Globally, natural gas is the main raw material for hydrogen production. According to IEA data, in 2022, 62% of the world's hydrogen came from natural gas, 21% from coal (mainly from China), and 16% from industrial by-products (none of which used carbon capture technology).
(2) The hydrogen energy strategy has gradually become the consensus of all countries
Countries have formulated hydrogen energy strategies and actively promoted the transition to green hydrogen. Among them, Europe expects renewable hydrogen demand to reach 20 million tons per year in 2030 (of which 10 million tons rely on self-production and 10 million tons rely on imports), and the demand for hydrogen is estimated to be the most optimistic. 20 million tonnes of hydrogen is about 20% of global hydrogen production in 2022, and if it were all produced by electrolysis of water, it would consume about 1.12 trillion kWh of electricity (about 4.2 trillion kWh of electricity generated annually in Europe).
Second, hydrogen energy investment, infrastructure first, hydrogen transportation first
Hydrogen storage and transportation is in the stage from 0 to 1, which is the current industrial chain stuck point. At present, the vast majority of global hydrogen energy is gray hydrogen, and the vast majority of gray hydrogen is produced and used in one place, and only a small amount of hydrogen is transported through pipeline vehicles and other means, so there is no systematic hydrogen energy transmission network. However, the production of green hydrogen is mainly concentrated in areas with abundant wind and solar resources, and there is a geographical separation between production and use. Therefore, the storage and transportation of hydrogen is a stuck point in the development of the industry at this stage.
Large-scale hydrogen storage and transportation projects, as the infrastructure of hydrogen energy, will be the first to explode. Taking the European pipeline project as an example, the implementation period of the hydrogen pipeline project is expected to take about 7 years, and to achieve the 2030 construction target, it is necessary to start new projects in 2023 and complete the financial investment decision (FID) in 2026.
The construction of hydrogen energy transportation network is a systematic project, and we believe that hydrogen transportation in the future will form a three-layer network architecture: The first layer: ultra-long-distance cross-sea hydrogen transportation (more than 5000km). The second layer: medium and long-distance pipeline hydrogen transportation (200km~5000km). The third time: trucking of high-pressure gaseous hydrogen over short distances (up to 200km).
(1) Ultra-long-distance hydrogen cross-sea transportation: taking Japan as an example
Japan's development of hydrogen energy has a lack of innate resource endowment. Japan's forests and mountainous terrain greatly limit the scope for solar and wind power development in Japan. Japan had pinned its hopes on offshore wind power, but the surrounding waters lacked shallow water, so it had to develop floating wind power that was not yet mature, and the impact on fisheries needed to be considered. This makes the country the most expensive country in the world for clean power generation. Prakash Sharma, director of research at Wood Mackenzie, said that Japan's high electricity prices make hydrogen production from renewable energy 2-4 times more expensive than that produced from fossil fuels. According to BNEF, the production cost of low-carbon hydrogen in Japan in 2030 is expected to be around US$3/kg, almost on the far right of the cost curve.
Japan's hydrogen strategy focuses more on hydrogen energy storage, transportation and downstream applications, while pinning its hopes on imports for the production of green hydrogen. Japan explicitly mentions "strategically considering the standardization of hydrogen energy and promoting the development of a buyer-led international trade model". Japan's hydrogen strategy sets "a commercial-scale supply chain to be established around 2030 to purchase about 3 million tons of hydrogen per year". Although Japan's plan of importing 3 million tons of hydrogen energy in 2030 will not directly improve Japan's dependence on energy imports, it can further diversify Japan's energy structure, increase energy supply channels, and enhance the stability of Japan's energy system. The geographical conditions determined that Japan was not suitable for transporting hydrogen by pipeline, and shipping became the main option. Japan is an island country, and the construction of offshore pipelines is expensive and difficult, so shipping is a more reasonable choice. In addition, Japan's hydrogen is far away from major exporters, making shipping more economical. For example, the Japan-Australia liquid hydrogen project has a sea distance of up to 9,000 km, and pipeline transportation is not the most economical option at this distance. At this stage, it is uncertain which carrier form will become the mainstream of shipping. At present, Japan is actively exploring liquid hydrogen, liquefied organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC), and ammonia.
(1) Liquid hydrogen route
Japan and Australia have established liquid hydrogen demonstration projects. In December 2019, Japan's first liquefied hydrogen carrier, the Suiso Frontier, was officially launched. In January 2022, Suiso Frontier arrived in Kobe, Japan, for the first time with liquid hydrogen produced in Australia. The project uses lignite gasification + CCUS technology to produce hydrogen in Australia, which is then liquefied at the liquefaction base and transported to the loading and unloading base in Kobe. This is the world's first large-scale maritime transportation of hydrogen via liquefied hydrogen. With a total length of 116 meters and a gross tonnage of about 8,000 tons, the Suiso Frontier carrier is equipped with a special gas tank capable of storing nearly 1,250 cubic meters of liquefied hydrogen, which is equivalent to about 75 tons of liquid hydrogen. There are many disadvantages of liquid hydrogen transportation: 1) The storage temperature of liquid hydrogen is -253°C, which requires a high cost to maintain such a low temperature, which is not coped with by current vacuum insulation technology and spherical hydrogen storage facilities. 2) Liquid hydrogen is difficult to avoid evaporation - about 0.1%~1% evaporation per day, 3) The liquefaction of hydrogen requires a lot of energy, and the energy consumption value is about 30% of the stored hydrogen energy. Therefore, in order to make liquefied hydrogen economical, it is necessary to increase the hydrogen production capacity at all stages to reduce costs: in the manufacturing process, the hydrogen production capacity needs to be increased from the current 0.1 t/d to 770 t/d, in the liquefaction stage, the liquefaction capacity needs to be increased from 5 t/d to 1,000 t/d, and in the transportation stage, the liquid hydrogen carrier needs to be increased from 2,500 cubic meters to 320,000 cubic meters.
Suiso Frontier's technical specifications are far from commercialization, and the current operation is more experimental. In January 2022, the Suiso Frontier caught fire while berthing in Australia due to a faulty valve. It can be seen from this that the current liquid hydrogen industry chain is not mature. Kawasaki Heavy Industries expects the transportation of liquefied hydrogen to be commercially viable by 2030.
(2) Liquefied organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) route
MCH (methylcyclohexane) is the most promising organic hydrogen carrier. Common organic hydrogen storage media in domestic and foreign literature include cyclohexane, MCH, naphthalene, N-ethylcarbazole, dibenzyltoluene, etc. MCH is liquid at room temperature and pressure, has a large hydrogen storage capacity, and the dehydrogenation counterpart (toluene) can be easily hydrogenated back to MCH, making it the most promising organic hydrogen carrier. If M CH is used as a hydrogen carrier, it is possible to produce and dehydrogenate MCH (decompose MCH into hydrogen and toluene) by utilizing the refinery's existing equipment. Under this route, refineries have the potential to become hydrogen supply bases in the era of carbon neutrality. Japan and Brunei have established MCH-based demonstration projects. In November 2019, Brunei's hydrogenation plant was opened and officially operational in 2020. Hydrogen is converted into MCH through a chemical reaction at a hydrogen refueling plant in Brunei. The MCH is transported by sea to Japan, where it is converted into hydrogen and toluene again at the dehydrogenation plant in Kawasaki. The main drawback of MCH is the high energy loss, which now reaches 35%-40% with MCH for hydrogen loading. The current production process for MCH is a two-step process that produces green hydrogen followed by MCH. In order to improve efficiency and reduce costs, ENE OS has developed a process for the direct production of MCH. The process does not require the production of hydrogen first, and uses the direct electrochemical reaction of toluene to directly produce MCH from water and toluene in one step. In addition, a Japanese research team led by Professor Akihiko Fukunaga from the Department of Applied Chemistry at Waseda University has successfully used solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to generate electricity directly from MCH.
(3) Ammonia
The cooperation between Japan and Saudi Arabia is mainly based on ammonia. In 2020, Saudi Aramco and SABIC partnered to deliver the world's first low-carbon ammonia to Japan. In 2022, Saudi Aramco and SABIC received the world's first low-carbon ammonia product certification. In 2023, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the two sides signed an agreement to develop clean hydrogen, produce ammonia and renewable fuels. Ammonia has complete storage and transportation facilities and is a potential hydrogen-carrying material. Ammonia is easier to liquefy than hydrogen, which can be liquefied at -33°C at atmospheric pressure, and the same volume of liquid ammonia contains at least 60% more hydrogen than liquid hydrogen. The ammonia storage and transportation infrastructure is perfect, and the shipping cost of 10,000km can be about 260 yuan/t ammonia (about 1.46 yuan/kg H2). However, with ammonia as the carrier, the cost of ammonia production and dehydrogenation is higher. Considering the links of ammonia production, transportation and dehydrogenation, the cost of transporting hydrogen with ammonia as a carrier is about 17 yuan/kg H2 at a distance of 10,000km.
It can be seen from the global low-carbon hydrogen trade flow map that ammonia will be an important carrier of hydrogen energy trade in the future. Of the 10 million tonnes of hydrogen that REPower EU plans to import, 40% is still expected to be in the form of ammonia or other derivatives, the vast majority of which is ammonia.
The biggest reason for the high cost of transportation using ammonia, liquid hydrogen, and LOHC is the high conversion cost. But one benefit of ammonia is that it can be used directly. Ammonia itself is a bulk chemical product, with global ammonia production of about 253 million tons, of which more than 80% is used to produce fertilizers. If green ammonia is not regarded as a carrier of green hydrogen, but directly as an industrial raw material, there is no need to carry out the conversion of "hydrogen-ammonia-hydrogen". In this scenario, the long-distance transportation of ammonia becomes economical. In addition, countries are also working on the technology of ammonia direct combustion to generate electricity, so as to reduce the cost of dehydrogenation.
(2) Medium- and long-distance hydrogen pipeline transportation: taking Europe and China as examples
Unlike Japan, Europe and its surrounding areas have certain wind and solar resources and have the conditions for the production of green hydrogen. In the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, North Africa, and the Middle East, low costs of green hydrogen production can be achieved. The Nordic region has abundant wind power resources, which are suitable for hydrogen production from wind power, while North Africa and the Middle East have abundant solar resources, which are suitable for hydrogen production from photovoltaics.
The scale of pipeline investment in Europe is expected to reach 800~143 billion euros. At present, the total length of pure hydrogen pipelines in the world is about 5,000 km. Europe is expected to build 31,060 km of hydrogen pipelines between 2025 and 2031. By 2040, 53,000 km of hydrogen pipelines will be built in Europe, of which 40% will be new hydrogen pipelines and 60% will rely on the renovation of original natural gas pipelines. The construction cost of hydrogen pipelines per kilometer is about 180~4.4 million euros/km, and the total investment is expected to reach 800~143 billion euros, of which the investment cost of compressors accounts for about 26%, and the investment cost of pipelines accounts for about 74%.
According to EHB (European Hydrogen Backbone) statistics, for onshore pipelines, the cost of hydrogen transportation per 100km is about 0.08~0.16 yuan/kg (0.011~0.021 euros/kg, the exchange rate is 7.8). For offshore pipelines, the cost of hydrogen transportation per 100 km is about 0.13~0.25 yuan/kg (0.017~0.032 euros/kg, the exchange rate is 7.8).
The cost of transporting hydrogen using pipelines in Europe is significantly lower than that of liquid hydrogen, ammonia and LOHC. Taking transportation from North Africa as an example, the transportation distance from North Africa to Northwest Europe is about 3000km, and the transportation cost is about 0.4~0.5 US dollars/kg using 48-inch pipelines. After accounting for transportation costs, the cost of transporting hydrogen from North Africa via pipeline is still less than $3/kg, making it the lowest cost option.
Pipeline hydrogen transportation is a major bottleneck in China's hydrogen energy development. Like Europe, China also needs to solve the problem of long-distance transportation of hydrogen, and pipeline transportation has become an option. At present, the length of hydrogen pipelines in China is about 400 kilometers, and only about 100 kilometers of pipelines are in use, and many of the hydrogen pipelines that have been built are used for short-distance industrial hydrogen transmission. In June 2023, China Energy News published an article titled "Solve the Problem of Pipeline Hydrogen Transmission Constraints as Soon as Possible", revealing China's shortcomings in hydrogen pipeline construction. China's large-scale pure hydrogen pipeline is in the early stages of demonstration project construction. At present, a total of 1,850 km of hydrogen pipelines are being designed in China, and the total length of the hydrogen pipeline network planned by various enterprises is about 17,000 km. In 2023, China's first "West-to-East Hydrogen Transmission" hydrogen pipeline demonstration project will be included in the "Implementation Plan for the Construction of the "National One Network" for Oil and Natural Gas, marking a new stage of development for China's long-distance hydrogen transmission pipelines. With a total length of more than 400 kilometers, the "West-to-East Hydrogen Transmission" pipeline starts in Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and ends in Beijing, making it China's first inter-provincial, large-scale, long-distance pure hydrogen transmission pipeline.
It is estimated that the transportation cost of pipelines in China is more than 1 yuan/kg per 100 kilometers, and there is a lot of room for decline. The investment cost of the Jiyuan-Luoyang hydrogen pipeline completed in China in 2015 is about 5.84 million yuan/km, and it is estimated that the cost of 100 kilometers of hydrogen transportation in China is about 1 yuan/kg.
Compared with Europe, the cost of pipeline transportation in China is on the high side. The cost of hydrogen transportation per 100km of the European onshore pipeline is about 0.08~0.16 yuan/kg, which is much lower than that of China. We believe that this is mainly due to the large volume of pipelines in Europe, and 60% of them are converted from oil and gas pipeline networks, which reduces construction costs. Most of the hydrogen pipelines that have been built in China are less than 100,000 tons per year, while the Jinling-Yangzi hydrogen pipeline is only 40,000 tons per year. The SoutH2 Corridor project in Europe has a total length of 3,300km and a planned annual transportation capacity of up to 4 million tons/year. The Central European Hydrogen Corridor (CEHC) has a total length of 1,225 km and a capacity of approximately 1.5 million tonnes per year (144 GWh/d). There is a significant negative correlation between the transportation scale and transportation cost of pipeline hydrogen transportation. The larger the scale of transportation, the lower the transportation cost. We expect that in the future, the cost of large-diameter hydrogen pipelines based on large-scale design in China will have a lot of room to decrease.
The construction period of new pipelines is long, and hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines can be used in existing pipelines to apply hydrogen transportation more quickly. With 110,000 km of natural gas pipelines in China, the use of natural gas blending technology can make full use of the existing natural gas infrastructure and reduce the cost of hydrogen transportation. Based on the hydrogen blending ratio of 10%-20%, the equivalent calorific value carbon emission reduction is 3.5%-7.6%, and the hydrogen transportation cost is 0.3-0.8 yuan/km per 100 kilometers. At present, the proportion of hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines can reach about 20%. According to the "Gas Quality Requirements for Long-distance Natural Gas Pipelines", the proportion of hydrogen in natural gas pipelines shall not be higher than 3%, so the proportion of natural gas hydrogen blending at this stage is about 3%. In 2023, Sinopec achieved the highest hydrogen blending ratio of 24% on the Ningdong Natural Gas Hydrogen Pipeline Demonstration Project in Yinchuan, Ningxia. Horizontally, the proportion of hydrogen blending in countries around the world generally does not exceed 10%. For example, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and France allow maximum hydrogen blending ratios of 1%, 2%, 4%, 5% and 6%, respectively. Australia believes that when the hydrogen blending ratio is less than 10%, it will have little impact on natural gas pipelines, equipment, etc. The maximum hydrogen blending ratio allowed in Germany is 2%, but it can reach 10% in certain cases.
The compression factor, throttling effect coefficient, constant pressure specific heat and other parameters of hydrogen-doped natural gas are quite different from those of natural gas and hydrogen, and there are special requirements for equipment.
Pipelines: Steel can cause hydrogen damage in a hydrogen environment, and hydrogen embrittlement is the main safety issue for the development of hydrogen-doped natural gas pipeline transportation technology. According to the relevant requirements of the European CGA-5.6 Hydrogen Pipeline System, the proportion of hydrogen content in natural gas pipelines can reach up to 10% (the pipeline steel grade is not higher than X52). China's city gas official website generally uses low-strength steel (API 5LA, API 5LB, X42 and X46) and non-metallic polyethylene, etc., with an operating pressure of less than 4Mpa and a hydrogen doping ratio of up to 20%. However, for the long-distance trunk pipelines, most of the high-steel pipes such as X70 and X80 are used, and the hydrogen content ratio is only 3% and 2% respectively.
Compressor: The actual operating conditions of centrifugal compressors are very closely related to the composition of the gas. Due to the low density of hydrogen, centrifugal compressors need to work more than 3 times the volume of hydrogen to achieve the same energy requirements as compressed natural gas, and the compressor rotor rotates hydrogen about 1.74 times faster than natural gas to achieve the same compression ratio. The working speed of the compressor impeller makes the impeller rotor bear greater centrifugal force, and the anti-hydrogen embrittlement characteristics of the compressor rotor material under the condition of hydrogen proximity have higher requirements for the mechanical properties of the compressor material.
Blending equipment: The density of hydrogen in the standard state (101.325kpa, 0°C) is 0.089g/L, while the density of natural gas is 0.717g/L. The density difference between hydrogen and natural gas will lead to non-uniform distribution, resulting in an increase in the partial pressure and volume fraction of hydrogen in the pipeline, which in turn will lead to pipe failure and leakage. Achieving efficient and homogeneous mixing of hydrogen and natural gas is the first problem to be overcome in the transportation of hydrogen-doped natural gas. The most commonly used blending equipment is the static mixer, which has the advantages of high blending efficiency, low energy consumption, small size, and easy continuous production.
The application of natural gas blending with hydrogen has been preliminarily verified in technology. Natural gas blending with hydrogen can be used in domestic and industrial gas installations. In the civil field, under the hydrogen doping ratio of less than 20% volume fraction, the ignition rate, flame stability and flue gas emission performance of hydrogen-doped natural gas combustion in domestic gas appliances are all qualified and no safety problems are found. In the industrial sector, Jingmen Green Energy Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of, successfully achieved 30% hydrogen-doped combustion transformation and operation in September 2022. A 54 megawatt gas turbine in Jingmen alone can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 18,000 tons per year when blended with 30% hydrogen. The core of natural gas hydrogen blending is economics, and it is expected that hydrogen will be economical in the long term. The calorific value per unit volume of hydrogen is about 1/3 of that of natural gas, and theoretically only the volume cost of hydrogen is less than 1/3 of that of natural gas, and natural gas is economical. At present, the price of natural gas for Chinese residents is regulated, and although overseas LNG prices have soared in 2022-2023, domestic residential gas prices have remained stable. At present, the price of natural gas gate station is estimated at 2 yuan/cubic meter, assuming that the residential gas price rises by 20%, the cost of hydrogen needs to be less than 0.8 yuan/cubic meter (9.0 yuan/kg). This is much lower than the current cost of about 20 yuan/kg for green hydrogen. The U.S. plans to reduce the cost of green hydrogen by 80% to 7 yuan/kg ($1/kg) over 10 years. This is challenging, but if achieved, it would be economical to replace gas with hydrogen.
We believe that the cost of green hydrogen will be reduced to 10 yuan/kg with greater certainty, and that hydrogen instead of LNG may achieve economic efficiency sooner. Unregulated gas includes domestic marine gas, imported LNG, unconventional gas, etc. In general, the price of unregulated gas is much higher than that of regulated gas. Taking LNG as an example, the average price in the past five years was 4,742 yuan/ton, or 3.4 yuan/cubic meter. When the price of hydrogen is lower than 1.14 yuan/cubic meter (12.7 yuan/kg), hydrogen blending is economical from the perspective of calorific value. In the long term, the cost of green hydrogen is expected to fall to 10 yuan/kg, and it will be economical to replace LNG with hydrogen.
(3) High-pressure gaseous transportation over short distances
When the use of hydrogen pipelines declines, the cost of transporting hydrogen through pipelines can rise rapidly. Therefore, for short-distance and small-scale hydrogen transportation, high-pressure gaseous hydrogen transportation will still be the mainstream. At present, the main way to transport hydrogen over short distances is to use hydrogen storage bottles to load hydrogen and transport it by trailer, and the transportation radius is generally within 200KM. Therefore, for high-pressure gaseous states, the most important way to reduce costs is to increase the pressure of the hydrogen storage cylinder. At a pressure of 20 MPa, a single vehicle transports only 300 to 400 kilograms of hydrogen, which is only 1%-2% of the total weight of a long-tube trailer. With the increase of pressure, the density of hydrogen storage is gradually improved, and the transportation cost is gradually reduced. Growing from 20Mpa to 30Mpa can increase the hydrogen loading capacity by about 64%. Since the hydrogen in the hydrogen storage bottle cannot be completely emptied during unloading, the actual discharge volume can be increased by 82%~93%. Taking 200km as an example, the transportation cost can be reduced from 9.6 yuan/kg to 6.7 yuan/kg. China's hydrogen storage and transportation is mainly in the high-pressure gaseous state of 20MPa, and the technology and standard of pressure storage and transportation above 45MPa are being improved.
The largest downstream scenario for high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage and transportation is hydrogen fuel cell vehicles/hydrogen refueling stations. According to H2station statistics, by the end of 2023, there will be a total of 921 hydrogen refueling stations in the world, including 724 overseas and 197 domestic. According to the statistics of the hydrogen community, as of February 2024, China has built 474 hydrogen refueling stations, of which 283 are in operation.
According to IEA statistics, as of the first half of 2023, the cumulative global sales of fuel cell vehicles are about 78,000 units (63,000 passenger cars + 8,000 trucks + 7,000 buses). Among them, China's fuel cell vehicles are mainly commercial vehicles, while overseas fuel cell vehicles are mainly passenger vehicles. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, 5,843 fuel cell vehicles will be sold in China in 2023, including 5,543 commercial vehicles.
Hydrogen energy heavy trucks ushered in marginal improvement in policies. In 2024, Shandong province introduced a policy to exempt hydrogen vehicles with E TC kits from highway tolls from March 1. The high-speed toll standard for trains over 20 tons in Shandong Province is 2.138 yuan/km. According to the Xiangcheng Association, after Shandong hydrogen energy heavy trucks are exempted from high-speed tolls, they can save 1.71 million high-speed tolls in the whole life cycle. After considering subsidies, the whole life cycle of hydrogen energy heavy trucks will be lower than that of fuel heavy trucks, and the industry will usher in important marginal changes.
Hydrogen storage cylinders and compressors are the core components of high-pressure gaseous hydrogen transportation. There are four main types of hydrogen storage cylinders. Type I bottles are made of steel as the inner liner. Type II bottles are circumferentially wound with fibers on the outside. Type III bottles use a combination of circumferential and longitudinal winding (full winding), and the winding fibers are generally carbon fibers. Type IV bottles further reduce the weight of the hydrogen storage cylinder by replacing the metal liner with a plastic liner.
Different hydrogen storage bottles correspond to different downstream application scenarios. Long-tube trailers and hydrogen refueling stations generally use type I and type II hydrogen storage cylinders. Domestic hydrogen fuel cell vehicles generally use 35Mpa type III bottles as hydrogen storage devices. The 70 MPa Type III bottle has been developed and has also begun to be used in small and medium-sized areas in cars. Overseas hydrogen fuel cells are mostly equipped with Type IV bottles, such as the Toyota Mirai.
Type I and Type II hydrogen storage cylinders have been matured in China. Taking station hydrogen storage bottles as an example, Zhejiang Lanneng and Enric occupy the vast majority of the market.
At present, China has realized the large-scale application of 35MPa type III bottles and the demonstration application of 70MPa type III bottles. Limited by the current situation of technical reserves, Type IV vehicle-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders have not yet been popularized and applied on a large scale. In terms of vehicle hydrogen storage bottles, the domestic enterprise Guofu Hydrogen Energy has the largest loading share, accounting for 32%, the second supporting loading volume of Sinoma Science and Technology, the third supporting loading volume of Aoyang Technology, and the market concentration of the top 3 enterprises is as high as 67.6%.
Hydrogenation compressors need to have the characteristics of large pressure bearing capacity and good sealing, and are mainly diaphragm compressors and liquid-driven piston compressors. The advantages of diaphragm compressor are that there is no pollution and no leakage in the compression process, the compression ratio is large, and the discharge pressure is high, and the disadvantage is that the single discharge volume is small, and it is not suitable for frequent start and stop. The advantages of liquid-driven compressor are that the single discharge volume is large, suitable for frequent start and stop, small size, easy maintenance, and the disadvantages are that hydrogen is easy to be polluted, high maintenance costs, and high noise. There is also an ion compressor, which is less used in China.
As the core equipment of hydrogen refueling station, the compressor has extremely high requirements for safety and reliability, and once made imported compressors account for more than 70%. In recent years, with the iteration of domestic brand technology and product cost performance, the proportion of imported compressors has dropped to about 50%. At present, the main players in diaphragm compressors include Zhongding Hengsheng, PDC in the United States, Howden in the United Kingdom, Fengdian Jinkaiwei, Jiangsu Hengjiu Machinery and Beijing Tiangao, among which Zhongding Hengsheng has a market share of 30% in the diaphragm compressor market of hydrogen refueling stations. Hedlisen and Comprose specialize in liquid-driven compressors.
3. What is the progress of localization of hydrogen energy storage and transportation equipment?
Liquid hydrogen equipment: quickly catch up and make breakthroughs
There is a big gap between China and overseas in liquid hydrogen equipment technology. Large-scale hydrogen liquefaction plants all use a hydrogen expansion cycle refrigeration process. Globally, only Air Products of the United States, Linde of Germany and Air Liquide of France have mastered the liquefaction technology of hydrogen expansion cycle. China's liquid hydrogen plants are mainly from Linde and Air Liquide. At present, the 101 Institute of the Sixth Academy of Aerospace, Zhongke Fuhai and Guofuhee have made some technical achievements in liquid hydrogen production equipment. CIMC Sundyne and Nanjing Aerospace Chenguang have made some progress in liquid hydrogen storage equipment.
China's first hydrogen liquefaction system based on helium expansion cold cycle developed by the 101 Institute of the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) was successfully commissioned in 2021, and more than 90% of the equipment, including core equipment such as turboexpanders, control systems, compressors, and ortho-hydrogen converters, is completely domestic. The project is designed to produce liquid hydrogen of 1. 7 tons/day, and the measured output at full load is 2.3 tons/day.
Founded in 2016, Fuhai is a high-tech company established with two generations of academicians and four generations of academicians of the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as the core of large-scale cryogenic engineering and technological achievements formed by four generations after 60 years. In 2022, the first domestic 1.5TPD hydrogen liquefaction unit with independent intellectual property rights was successfully commissioned in Fuyang, Anhui Province, and liquid hydrogen products were successfully produced. In 2023, the 1.5t/d liquid hydrogen plant of Zhongke Fuhai will be successfully launched to the sea.
The multi-stage pre-cooled hydrogen expansion and refrigeration hydrogen liquefaction process and the special core equipment of the liquid hydrogen plant independently developed by GUOFUHEE have a hydrogen liquefaction scale of 10-30 tons/day (TPD) and a liquefaction energy consumption of no more than 12kWh/kgLH2. In 2023, China's first 10-ton-per-year liquid hydrogen plant built by GUOFUHEE will be built in Qilu Hydrogen Energy.
CIMC Sundyne (a subsidiary of CIMC ENRIC) has developed the first civilian liquid hydrogen tanker in China, with a reserve of 40 cubic meters. Because the 300m3 liquid hydrogen storage tank was realized.
CIMC Shengdyne and Nanjing Aerospace Chenguang have broken through the 300 cubic meter spherical liquid hydrogen storage tank. The largest spherical storage tank for liquid hydrogen in the United States is currently 4,700 cubic meters, and China is still far behind.
Hydrogen pipelines: Localized pipelines have cost advantages
In addition to selecting materials that resist hydrogen embrittlement and high strength, it is also necessary to optimize the welding process and improve the molding accuracy. At present, the main participants are subsidiaries of PetroChina and Sinopec, such as PetroChina Baoji Petroleum Steel Pipe, PetroChina Huayou Steel Pipe, Julong Steel Pipe, Bohai Equipment, etc. At the 2023 China International Petroleum and Petrochemical Technology and Equipment Exhibition, Petrochemical Machinery also exhibited the developed hydrogen transmission pipeline. Generally speaking, the cost of hydrogen pipelines is about 2.5 times that of natural gas pipelines, while the cost of petrochemical machinery pipelines is only 20%~30% higher than that of natural gas pipelines. Another technical route for hydrogen pipelines is flexible reinforced plastic pipes (FCP), and there is no case of large-scale application in China. The RTP flexible composite hydrogen transport pipe independently developed by China Lesso is mainly composed of an inner pipe layer, an aluminum tape barrier layer, an intermediate plastic layer, a glass fiber reinforced layer and an outer pipe layer, which is a kind of plastic composite pipe with high barrier performance and high strength. Plastic pipes are particularly suitable for the production of hydrogen from sea and wind to transport large quantities of green hydrogen ashore.
Large mainline compressors: imports are still required
Since hydrogen is less dense than natural gas, higher demands are placed on large compressors in pipelines. At present, reciprocating compressors are mainly used in China, and the main manufacturers include Ingersoll Rand of the United States and Sulzer of Switzerland. On the one hand, domestic enterprises are laying out the localization of reciprocating compressors, and on the other hand, they are also exploring the technical route of centrifugal compressors. The main layout enterprises of large-scale compressors for pipelines include Shenyang Yuanda Compressor Company, Sinopec Petrochemical Machinery, etc.
Hydrogen storage bottles: A breakthrough in 70 Mpa high-pressure cylinders
Sinoma has been engaged in the design of high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinders since 2008, and launched a commercial high-pressure gas storage tank to the market in 2016. In 2023, Sinoma Technology successfully developed the key control technology of domestic carbon fiber in the high-pressure gas storage cylinder process, and realized the application of domestic carbon fiber in 70Mpa Type IV high-pressure gas storage cylinder. CIMC ENRIC began to deploy hydrogen energy business in 2006, covering the entire industrial chain of hydrogen energy production, storage, transportation and processing. IN 2020, IT ESTABLISHED A JOINT VENTURE WITH HEXAGON PURUS IN NORWAY TO LOCALIZE THE MATURE TYPE IV HYDROGEN STORAGE CYLINDER TECHNOLOGY IN EUROPE AND LAY OUT THE FAST-GROWING HIGH-PRESSURE HYDROGEN STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION MARKET IN CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA. The second-generation 70Mpa Type IV hydrogen storage cylinder independently developed by Future Energy has a mass hydrogen storage density of 6.1wt%, exceeding the target of 5.5wt% mass hydrogen storage density set by the U.S. Department of Energy by 2025.
Hydrogen refueling compressors: domestic substitution is the right time
As the core equipment of hydrogen refueling station, the compressor has extremely high requirements for safety and reliability, and once made imported compressors account for more than 70%. In recent years, with the iteration of domestic brand technology and product cost performance, the proportion of imported compressors has dropped to about 50%. At present, the main players in diaphragm compressors include Zhongding Hengsheng, PDC of the United States, Howden of the United Kingdom, Fengdian Jinkaiwei, Jiangsu Hengjiu Machinery, Beijing Tiangao, etc. Among them, Zhongding Hengsheng has a market share of 30% in the diaphragm compressor of hydrogen refueling stations. In terms of hydraulic compressors, the major players include Hedlisen, Comprius, and others.
Source: Minmetals Securities
