Walking the grassroots in the New Year | Celebrate the New Year with the world's largest green hydrogen project

During the Spring Festival, the urban area of Kuqa in Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, is brightly lit and full of flowers, while the green hydrogen plant in the state-level Kuqa Economic and Technological Development Zone is operating normally as usual, and the production is tense and orderly.

Recently, the reporter walked into the gate of the green hydrogen factory with the four big words "Happy Spring Festival", and the first thing he did was to change into anti-static clothing and put on a safety helmet. In the plant area, the 220 thousand volt substation continuously receives clean electricity from the photovoltaic power station, and through the operation of hydrogen production equipment such as electrolyzers and separation frames, the clean electricity becomes green hydrogen, which is then transported to Sinopec Tahe Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. 4.5 kilometers away through hydrogen compressors and hydrogen pipelines.

"Sinopec Xinxing Xinjiang Kuqa with an annual output of 20,000 tons of green hydrogen demonstration project, is currently put into operation of the world's largest green hydrogen industrial application project, Tahe refining and refining production does not stop, for the refining process in the hydrogen production can not stop, hydrogen production equipment is a tertiary major danger source, which is destined for many of us to spend the Spring Festival on the job. Fan Linsong, general manager of Sinopec Xinxing Xinjiang Green Hydrogen New Energy Co., Ltd., said.

Covering an area of 500 acres, the green hydrogen plant is lined with equipment and pipelines, but reporters rarely see employees. According to Fan Linsong, every link of green hydrogen production is intelligently controlled, and employees only need to be on duty in front of the computer screen in the central control room, so that they can know the operation of equipment inside and outside the plant.

In the central control room, the green hydrogen intelligent control and dispatching system has dozens of electronic screens, large and small, and the six attendants are staring intently at their respective areas of responsibility, so quiet that there is only the sound of tapping on the computer keyboard. Liu Chen, deputy director of the green hydrogen plant, pointed to a monitoring screen and said: "The central control room can monitor all points in the plant area to achieve monitoring without dead ends. Every electrolyzer and other devices in the plant, hydrogen pipelines and other lines outside the plant, no matter where there is an abnormal operation, professional and technical personnel will immediately go to the site to solve it. ”

"This project is the concrete practice of Sinopec to build 'China's No. 1 hydrogen energy company' and a leader in the hydrogen energy industry, which officially started in March 2022 and will be fully completed and put into operation on August 30, 2023. This translates into a reduction in CO2 emissions of around 485,000 tonnes per year. For more than 30 years, this has been a significant part of my career. Fan Linsong said. He remembers every important node of the construction and production of the green hydrogen project vividly, because he has a deep affection for this project.

From a 300-megawatt photovoltaic power plant in Yaha Township, Kuqa City, 20 kilometers away, to a hydrogen production plant, the world's largest hydrogen production project has only 29 managers and 70 operators. During the Spring Festival, 70% of the personnel stuck to their posts.

It is understood that the staff can take advantage of the change of shift to eat dumplings in the lounge next to it, but talking to family members on the phone and making video calls can only after work. "It's not as lively as the Chinese New Year at home, but we're also happy because we have a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Liu Chen said.

Zhang Jiale, a power operation and maintenance worker at the green hydrogen plant who spent the Chinese New Year on his post this year, came to work here in June 2023. The young man from Zhengzhou told reporters that he was fortunate to participate in the world's largest green hydrogen project shortly after joining the work, which was a blessing in his life.

Up to now, the green hydrogen plant has delivered more than 3,100 tons of green hydrogen to Tahe Refining & Chemical, and the whole plant is operating safely and reliably. Fan Linsong said that in the future, Xinxing Green Hydrogen Company will further optimize hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, hydrogen transportation and management to make production costs lower. At the same time, it will actively expand the application scenarios of green hydrogen, expand the scale of production in a timely manner, and make new contributions to the development of the hydrogen energy industry and local economic and social development.