China's Sinopec has began manufacturing green hydrogen at a factory in Kuqa, Xinjiang, according to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua on Friday (30 June).  According to the newspaper, the plant, Sinopec's first green hydrogen facility, has the potential to manufacture 20,000 metric tonnes of hydrogen per year by electrolyzing water with solar electricity.

A spokeswoman for Sinopec was not immediately available to comment on the plant's start-up.

China and other countries are rushing to develop green hydrogen, which is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy, as a critical source of fuel with no carbon emissions to help prevent climate change.

Last year, China's state planner established a goal of producing 100,000 to 200,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2025. According to Xinhua, Sinopec's plant has a hydrogen storage capacity of 210,000 cubic metres and a transmission capacity of 28,000 cubic metres per hour, in addition to its production capability.

The hydrogen produced by the facility will be used to replace natural gas hydrogen at Sinopec's Tahe refinery. Sinopec broke ground on the project in November 2021, with an initial investment of approximately 3 billion yuan (US$414 million).

In February, the company announced intentions to create a 30,000-metric-tonne green hydrogen demonstration project in Inner Mongolia, as well as a 400-kilometer pipeline to deliver hydrogen from Inner Mongolia to Beijing.