China will construct a 6,000-kilometer pipeline network by 2050 for hydrogen transportation. The network will help meet the projected demand for hydrogen in China, 100 MTPA by 2060. Currently, China has three hydrogen pipelines, each spanning less than 100 kilometers.

Jun 9, 2023

China will construct an extensive 6,000-kilometer pipeline network by 2050 to meet the projected surge in hydrogen demand, that is 100 MTPA by 2060. The network will transport hydrogen from wind and solar energy-rich northern and northwestern regions to the southern and eastern markets. China currently possesses only three hydrogen pipelines, each spanning less than 100 kilometers, while the global hydrogen pipeline network totals 5,000 kilometers. The planned network will bridge this gap and support the country’s growing hydrogen industry.

The national hydrogen pipeline grid will be accessible to hydrogen asset owners and traders.

Sinopec, China, will construct a dedicated pipeline to transport green hydrogen produced in inner Mongolia to Beijing. The proposed West-East hydrogen pipeline will span 400 kilometers with an initial throughput capacity of 100,000 TPA and future expansion scope to 500,000 TPA. The pipeline shall traverse nine counties and cities in three provinces, from Ulanqab to the Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical facility in Beijing. 

PetroChina began the construction of China’s first green hydrogen pipeline in March 2023. The 6-kilometer pipeline with a throughput capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per hour will transport green hydrogen from a PV-electrolysis facility at the Yumen oilfield in Gansu province to a local petrochemical plant. The pipeline will reduce emissions by 220,000 TPA while producing 7,000 TPA of green hydrogen and generating 278-KWh per annum of electricity.

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Mr. Li Guohui, Vice President of China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation (CPPEC), delivered various details about the planned network and current status of China’s hydrogen transportation network.

The Chinese hydrogen production facilities are concentrated in the northwest, northeast, and midwest regions, while the demand for hydrogen is concentrated in the eastern and southern parts of the country. The pipeline network will connect various regions, provinces, and cities in northern China, such as Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, and Heilongjiang.