Zhengzhou plans to build "Hydrogen Capital of the Central Plains", and hydrogen energy output value exceeds 100 billion yuan by 2035
On April 9, the General Office of Zhengzhou Municipal People's Government issued the “Medium and Long-term Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry in Zhengzhou City (2024-2035)”. The plan proposes that by 2025, the total output value of the hydrogen industry in Zhengzhou will reach 20 billion yuan, and the Zhengzhou node of the "Zheng-Bian-Luo-Pu Hydrogen Corridor" will be basically completed, with the conditions for the construction of the "Hydrogen Capital of the Central Plains". The supply capacity of low-carbon hydrogen will reach 10,000 tons/year. Layout 200 hydrogen refueling stations, including 10 hydrogen refueling stations. No less than 2,500 fuel cell vehicles will be promoted. By 2030, the construction of "Hydrogen Capital of Central Plains" will be deeply promoted, the annual supply of low-carbon hydrogen will reach 30,000 tons/year, and no less than 5,000 fuel cell vehicles will be promoted. By 2035, the overall scale of hydrogen energy industry will reach the leading level in China, with the total output value exceeding 100 billion RMB, and the "Hydrogen Capital of Central Plains" with international influence will be built.
Guizhou: focus on promoting hydrogen production and storage technology and explore hydrogen fuel cell development
On April 2, Industry and Information Technology Department of Guizhou Province issued a notice on "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Advanced Manufacturing Clusters". In terms of hydrogen, the document mentioned that facing the direction of green low-carbon, intelligent, efficient, diversified development, focus on promoting the development and industrialization of new energy storage technologies such as electrolytic water hydrogen production, biomass hydrogen production, high-pressure gas hydrogen storage, low-temperature liquid hydrogen storage technology, electrochemical energy storage, hydrogen energy storage and CCUS in the hydrogen energy productionstorage (transportation) industry. Explore the development and commercialization of application scenarios sucha as hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen metallurgy, joint frequency regulation of thermal power and energy storage on the power generation side, integration of wind power, PV and energy storage, grid-side energy storage, and user-side energy storage and others.
National Development and Reform Commission and five other departments：Support the high-quality development of hydrogen energy and other industrial clusters in Inner Mongolia
On April 3, National Development and Reform Commission and five other departments issued “Several Policy Measures to Support the Green, Low-carbon and High-quality Development of Inner Mongolia”. The measures propose to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries: explore the development mode of modern coal chemical industry with green hydrogen, and CUSS. Accelerate the development of new energy industry: support Inner Mongolia to explore new energy industry innovation and development mode, development wind turbines, photovoltaic, photothermal, hydrogen energy, energy storage and other industrial clusters with high-quality. Accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of transportation: support Inner Mongolia to improve the infrastructure system of charging stations, hydrogen refueling stations, etc., and strengthen the in-depth integration of transportation, electric power and energy facilities.
Hangzhou: actively explore the development and utilization of hydrogen energy, and strengthen hydrogen energy and other new energy industries
Recently, Hangzhou Municipal Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on soliciting public opinion of "Implementation Opinions on Further Promoting High-quality Economic Development of Hangzhou Headquarters (draft)". The Opinions mentioned, strengthen cooperation with central enterprises, actively explore and carry out offshore wind power, photovoltaic and other renewable energy hydrogen production projects. Explore the opening of offshore green hydrogen land and water transportation channel. Rely on relevant enterprises to actively introduce and cultivate hydrogen fuel cell and its key components projects, layout green hydrogen production, storage and transportation equipment projects. Promote the demonstration application of hydrogen energy, accelerate the construction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle application scenarios for heavy load wagon, engineering vehicles, special vehicles and cold chain logistics vehicles, develop marine and inland waterway transportation vessels powered by hydrogen fuel cells, and strive to join the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle demonstration zones in Zhejiang Province and national fuel cell vehicle demonstration city cluster. Improve the layout of hydrogen refueling stations and encourage the implementation of hydrogen refueling station reconstruction and expansion projects by utilizing the sites of existing refueling (gas), charging and comprehensive energy supply service stations.
Japan plans hydrogen production with next-generation nuclear reactor
The country’s nuclear research agency, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), last week passed a safety test on its novel High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR). The HTGR is a type of low-efficiency but ultra-safe nuclear reactor developed by JAEA, in which the core will not melt down even if control rods (made of materials that slow the nuclear reaction) are not deployed or if the gas-cooling system fails. But the HTGR reaches temperatures of 870°C, yielding a lot of waste heat that JAEA believes can be used to make hydrogen. JAEA is now planning hydrogen production field trials using waste heat from the plant as soon as 2028. The JAEA plans to petition Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority to scale up the HTGR from its current 30MW to around 250MW, which it says would make enough green hydrogen to power 200,000 fuel-cell vehicles a year.
Ferrari Reveals Hybrid Car Patent with Upside-Down Hydrogen Engine
Recently, Ferrari has applied for a patent on an upside-down hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine (ICE). The patent application is for a hybrid vehicle with rear wheels driven by an ICE engine and front wheels by an electric motor. The hydrogen engine sits with the crankshaft at the top and the cylinder head at the bottom. At the core of Ferrari’s innovative concept lies a unique fuel tank arrangement, comprising four tanks capable of storing hydrogen gas at over 10,000 psi. Two spherical tanks flank each side of the inverted engine, while the remaining cylindrical tanks sit atop the engine. The proposed car would feature an inline-six engine configuration, coupled with an electric motor driving the front wheels, positioning Ferrari at the forefront of hybrid propulsion technology.
A giant 800MW green hydrogen-to-methanol plant plans to be built in southern Spain
Ansasol, a German-Spanish solar and renewable hydrogen developer, has unveiled plans to build a massive 800MW green hydrogen-to-methanol plant in southern Spain. Ansasol intends to have the first phase of the MetGreenPort plant in the Port of Huelva producing 150,000 tonnes of green methanol from renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide sourced from nearby industries by 2027. But it then plans to increase the size of MetGreenPort by more than a factor of six within two years, scaling up to one million tonnes by 2029 with a total electrolysis capacity of 800MW, which would make it by far the biggest green methanol project in Europe.
