"Green electricity + green hydrogen" helps the world achieve net-zero emissions

"Photovoltaic power generation is expected to cover 70% of the future energy consumption, but about 30% still need to rely on fossil energy, such as steel and cement, air transportation, ocean freighters and other fields. LONGi believes that hydrogen energy is the best solution for the deep decarbonization of these 30% of the energy sector, and based on this, LONGi calls for 'green power' + 'green hydrogen' to help achieve global net zero emissions. Li Zhenguo, founder of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., said in the United Nations news live broadcast room of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) a few days ago.

Li Zhenguo mentioned that the World Meteorological Organization's "State of the Global Climate 2022" shows that the global average temperature in 2022 is 1.15°C higher than the pre-industrial average, and the International Energy Agency's "2022 Carbon Emissions" report shows that global carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption and industrial processes reached a record high of 36.8 billion tons in 2022. At a time when the global climate crisis is intensifying, "carbon neutrality" has gone from a global consensus to a global action.

To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality in the world, it is important to build a new power system with new energy as the main body. Through pumped hydro storage and making full use of existing flexible resources, the cost reduction of chemical energy storage will be transferred for 10-15 years, until the economics of chemical energy storage can support renewable energy peak shaving.

"It is imperative to achieve clean, low-carbon, and low-cost green hydrogen production processes. One of the most critical aspects is to reduce the cost of electricity in the production of green hydrogen and to use green electricity. As an amplifier of clean energy, photovoltaics can achieve a good balance between energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability. According to estimates, at present, the direct energy consumption of silicon energy from the beginning of quartz ore to the output of photovoltaic industry chain is about 0.4 kWh/W, the life cycle of the photovoltaic system is more than 30 years, the average annual power generation is more than 1.5 kWh/W, and the energy output is more than 100 times the energy consumption through the conversion of light energy. Li Zhenguo said.

This year, LONGi's water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment has an annual production capacity of 2.5GW, and it is expected to reach 5-10GW by 2025. In June, LONGi Hydrogen Energy provided green hydrogen equipment for the world's largest and China's first 10,000-ton green hydrogen demonstration project, which is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 485,000 tons per year by replacing natural gas for refineries.

At the same time, by actively exploring the path of "multi-technology route + multi-scenario application" of green hydrogen, we will formulate modular and intelligent solutions, which are widely used in various scenarios such as petrochemical, chemical, electric power, iron and steel metallurgy, transportation, and other manufacturing industries, and drive the high-quality development of the green hydrogen industry with technological innovation.

Recently, LONGi Green Energy signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the International Green Hydrogen Organization (GH2) at COP28. It is reported that this cooperation is a solemn commitment of both parties to jointly promote the high-quality development of the green hydrogen industry, and it is also an important step to join hands with "green electricity + green hydrogen" to help achieve carbon neutrality.                                                       

In Li Zhenguo's view, whether it is the photovoltaic industry or the hydrogen energy industry, only through continuous technological innovation to achieve cost reduction and efficiency increase is the core factor to promote industrial development. In the photovoltaic field, it is necessary to reduce the cost of electricity, and in the hydrogen energy field, it is necessary to reduce the cost of hydrogen production per unit, and ultimately, reduce the overall initial investment cost, so as to help more countries, regions and different industries achieve net-zero emissions and obtain power generation benefits.