To help "double carbon", the hydrogen energy industry needs to work harder
The skid-mounted hydrogen refueling station refuels hydrogen fuel cell buses.
Xinhua News Agency
[I think carbon reaches peak carbon neutrality]
Hydrogen energy is a kind of secondary energy with abundant sources, green low-carbon and wide application. It is gradually becoming one of the important carriers of global energy transformation and development. It is of great significance to build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.
Not long ago, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Medium and Long-Term Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035)", which is the first medium and long-term plan for my country's hydrogen energy industry, and the hydrogen energy industry ushered in major development opportunities.
At present, many places in my country have formulated hydrogen energy industry policy documents and laid out the construction of infrastructure such as hydrogen refueling stations.
However, while the promotion of fuel cell vehicles is in full swing, the problems of relatively few hydrogen refueling stations and lagging construction have become more prominent.
How to focus on shortcomings and weaknesses and develop strengths has become an important step to enhance the competitiveness and innovation of the hydrogen energy industry.
China's annual hydrogen production and hydrogen refueling stations rank first in the world
Hydrogen energy is hailed by the international community as the clean energy with the most development potential in the 21st century, and the global hydrogen energy development is entering a stage of rapid industrialization.
Developed countries such as the United States and Japan have raised hydrogen energy as a national strategy to seize the opportunity and commanding heights of industrial development.
Throughout the world, more than 30 countries and regions have formulated or are formulating roadmaps for the development of hydrogen energy.
In recent years, relevant ministries and local governments in my country have issued nearly 200 policy documents to promote hydrogen energy to play a greater role in energy transformation, technological innovation, and "dual carbon" actions, especially the demonstration applications of fuel cell vehicles in Beijing, Shanghai, The development of five major urban agglomerations in Guangdong, Henan and Hebei has directly promoted the industrialization of hydrogen energy.
From a domestic perspective, my country is the largest hydrogen producer in the world, with an annual hydrogen production output of about 33 million tons, of which about 12 million tons meet the industrial hydrogen quality standard.
my country ranks first in the world in terms of installed renewable energy capacity, and has great potential for clean and low-carbon hydrogen energy supply.
The domestic hydrogen energy industry is showing a positive development trend. The main technologies and production processes such as hydrogen energy preparation, storage and transportation, hydrogenation, fuel cell and system integration have been initially mastered, and small-scale demonstration applications of fuel cell vehicles have been realized in some regions.
At present, my country's hydrogen energy industry has initially formed five development areas of "east, west, south, north, and middle".
There are more than 300 industrial enterprises above designated size in the entire industry chain, concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and other regions.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have become another "big move" for local governments to deploy the automotive industry.
Domestic hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have formed a regional industrial agglomeration effect, and enterprises related to the industrial chain in the six provinces and cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Hebei account for 51% of the total number of enterprises above designated size.
The hydrogen refueling station is an important infrastructure for the hydrogen energy industry.
At present, the construction of hydrogen refueling stations around the world is in full swing.
According to incomplete statistics, by the end of 2021, a total of 659 hydrogen refueling stations have been put into operation around the world, distributed in 33 countries or regions.
Among them, there are 420, 173 and 54 hydrogen refueling stations in operation in East Asia (China, Japan and South Korea), Europe and North America respectively.
In 2019, the number of hydrogen refueling stations in Asia caught up with Europe, and continued to widen the gap since then, ranking first in the world for three consecutive years.
In 2022, 252 hydrogen refueling stations are expected to be added worldwide.
At present, my country has built 255 hydrogen refueling stations, of which 183 are in operation. The cumulative number of completed hydrogen refueling stations, the number of operating hydrogen refueling stations, and the number of newly built hydrogen refueling stations have achieved three "firsts" for the first time in the world. The first batch The five selected fuel cell vehicle demonstration application city clusters have more than 50% of the hydrogen refueling stations.
The construction of hydrogen refueling stations is still lagging behind, and the relevant legislation is blank
my country's current fuel cell vehicles are mainly commercial vehicles, with nearly 10,000 vehicles.
According to the target plan of the five major urban agglomerations for the demonstration and application of fuel cell vehicles in the country, by 2025, the demonstration and promotion scale of fuel cell vehicles in the five places will exceed 30,000.
According to relevant plans, the number of fuel cell vehicles in my country will reach about 50,000 in 2025, and the number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is expected to reach 1 million in 2030.
Correspondingly, the white paper released by the China Hydrogen Energy Alliance predicts that 300 and 1,000 hydrogen refueling stations will be built in China in 2025 and 2030, respectively.
The daily service capacity of most hydrogen refueling stations is 100 to 200 vehicles. From the perspective of layout, my country's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are mainly concentrated in the five major urban agglomerations and northern regions for demonstration applications, while hydrogen refueling stations are scattered in dozens of countries across the country. cities.
This means that, before 2030, the five major urban agglomerations and hydrogen refueling stations in the northern region will be in a state of tight balance or shortage.
Hydrogenation is inconvenient, which will seriously restrict the development of hydrogen energy industrialization.
The reason is that first, there is a lack of upper-level legal basis, and it is difficult to approve hydrogen refueling stations.
Hydrogen energy is an important part of the future national energy system, but due to the long-term absence of the upper-level law, there is no legal support for the energy attributes of hydrogen, which affects the management and supervision of the industry.
According to my country's "Regulations on the Management of Hazardous Chemicals", hydrogen is classified as a hazardous chemical. Hydrogen production and hydrogenation units can only be built in specific areas such as chemical parks, which are usually located in remote areas. Not only is the amount of hydrogen limited, but the project approval process is also very long. , which greatly limits the layout and application of hydrogen energy projects.
Second, the existing construction standards are not very guiding.
The construction of hydrogen refueling stations in my country is mainly based on the "Technical Specifications for Hydrogen Refueling Stations" promulgated in 2010. This standard was prepared earlier and is no longer suitable for the current reality.
Compared with Europe, America and Japan, some technical indicators are several times or even more than 10 times the corresponding foreign indicators.
The safety space calculated by the energy equivalent conversion algorithm of gasoline and hydrogen used in the formulation of Chinese standards is too large, which also restricts the development of hydrogen refueling stations to a certain extent.
The third is the high cost of construction and operation, coupled with the inconvenience of hydrogen refueling, making it difficult to make profits.
From the perspective of the construction of the hydrogen refueling station, the requirements for its external safety protection distance make the hydrogen refueling station occupy a large area, and it is difficult to select the site and the land cost is high, which also makes it difficult for hydrogen energy to be deployed in the core area of the city on a large scale. , while the cost of supporting facilities in the suburbs is high, and the cost of building a separate station is high.
From the point of view of the operation of hydrogen refueling stations, most hydrogen refueling stations are inconvenient to refuel, and the operating load is not high, so it is difficult to achieve profitability.
Speed up legislation and regulations infrastructure should go first
At present, my country's hydrogen energy industry is still in the early stage of development. Compared with the international advanced level, the basic system supporting the development of the industry is relatively lagging behind. In the face of new opportunities, it is urgent to strengthen overall planning and make up for shortcomings.
First of all, measures for the construction and operation of hydrogen refueling stations should be introduced as soon as possible, and legislation and regulations should be accelerated.
Legally clarify the energy attributes of hydrogen, and better manage it in the form of energy based on the management of hazardous chemicals; it is also necessary to clarify the management functions, regulatory agencies and management methods of hydrogen refueling stations.
At present, Wuhan, Jinan, Weifang, Baoding and other places have made innovations in the management of hydrogen refueling station business licenses with reference to the "Regulations on Urban Gas Management".
Chengdu issued the "Chengdu Hydrogen Refueling Station Construction and Operation Management Measures (Trial)", which innovatively included hydrogen refueling stations in the Chengdu franchise catalogue for management.
Secondly, the national standards for the construction of hydrogen refueling stations should be revised as soon as possible.
Carry out basic research on quantitative risk assessment of hydrogen refueling stations, consequences and prevention of hydrogen safety accidents, combine domestic and foreign practical experience and technical level, and revise and improve current hydrogen refueling station standards as soon as possible while ensuring safety, and guide the construction of hydrogen refueling stations. Reduce unnecessary safety management costs faced when managing as hazardous chemicals.
Thirdly, we must make overall planning, "determine the station according to the needs, and determine the vehicle according to the station".
The construction of infrastructure such as hydrogen refueling stations is the key to the popularization of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
From the perspective of international experience, the hydrogen energy industry basically took the road of infrastructure priority in the initial stage.
In order to prevent the rush to build cars or build hydrogen refueling stations, the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and the layout of hydrogen refueling stations should be planned as a whole, and the construction of hydrogen refueling stations should guide the consumption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Finally, the "greenness" of hydrogenation should be gradually increased to reduce the carbon footprint of hydrogen energy.
For pure hydrogen refueling stations, the proportion of green hydrogen procurement should be gradually increased.
For the in-station hydrogen production and hydrogenation integrated station, the proportion of green electricity should be gradually increased to improve the hydrogen production efficiency.
In addition, social publicity and guidance should be strengthened.
Due to the short use of hydrogen as an energy source, the publicity about hydrogen safety is still not in place, and the society has not yet established trust in the safety of hydrogen use.
It is necessary to increase the popularization of hydrogen energy knowledge, more actively publicize the blueprint and value of the future hydrogen society, create a good atmosphere for safe use of hydrogen, accelerate the entry of hydrogen energy into residential energy consumption terminals, and give full play to hydrogen energy to reach carbon peaks and carbon neutrality. and target support.
(Author: Zhang Jianhong, senior engineer of China International Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.)