Chinese oil giant Sinopec rolling out cost-saving methanol-to-hydrogen filling stations in China
State-owned company says that cracking methanol to hydrogen on site will be 20% cheaper than using delivered H2
Chinese oil giant Sinopec has built its first two methanol-to-hydrogen filling station in Dalian, China, with another six under construction.
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As methanol is more energy dense than compressed or liquid hydrogen, the state-owned company said these stations will “save costs on hydrogen production, storage and transportation by more than 20% compared to traditional hydrogen refueling stations”.
“Sinopec's hydrogen production plant has the advantages of covering a small area, having a short construction time, and having a green, environmentally friendly production process…. It will become a pilot model to lead the development of China’s hydrogen industry.”
“The launch of the Service Station has showed that distributed methanol-to-hydrogen is the right roadmap for the sustainable development of China's hydrogen fueling stations,” said Yang Junze, executive director of Sinopec Fuel Oil Sales.
“It is a leapfrog development that offers a safe, reliable, green, intelligent, integrated and efficient solution that will contribute to the scaled application of hydrogen energy at lower cost.”
China is the biggest producer of methanol in the world, accounting for 57% of the world’s entire production, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).