碱性电解槽“一哥”之争：阳光氢能223MW登顶，隆基3.5GW产能穷追，百兆瓦级独供能否成为护城河Battle for the 'top spot' in alkaline electrolyzers: Sunshine Hydrogen tops with 223MW, Longi closely pursues with 3.5GW capacity, can a hundred-megawatt standalone supply become a moat?

"Should a hundred-megawatt-class project be supplied by a single company?" This was the most contentious debate in the green hydrogen equipment circle in 2026. In May, Sunshine Hydrogen Energy won the bid for the second section of the National Electric Investment Lishu Wind-Solar Green Hydrogen Biomass Coupled Green Methanol Project. Combined with the first section that was already won in January, it monopolized all 29 electrolyzers of the project (28 units at 1000 Nm³/h and 1 unit at 2000 Nm³/h, totaling 150 MW), with a bid of about 162 million yuan, becoming the first domestic manufacturer to exclusively supply hundred-megawatt-class full alkaline hydrogen production equipment. Supporters call this "the optimal solution for system synergy," while opponents worry that "competition among multiple suppliers will be locked out." Essentially, this debate is about the path and pattern of the alkaline electrolyzer track entering the volume growth period.

Pro-side: Exclusive supply improves system efficiency, with Sunshine's reputation for "fast delivery and stable operation."

The logic for supporting a single supplier is straightforward: in large-scale green hydrogen projects, multi-supplier equipment often faces pain points such as poor compatibility, difficult cluster control, and complex operation and maintenance. China Power Green Energy entrusted all 150 MW of its alkaline hydrogen production equipment to Sunshine Hydrogen, precisely valuing the mutual trust demonstrated in the Da'an project for 'efficient delivery and stable operation.' Sunshine's hard strength is backed by data: in the first half of 2026, it led domestic orders with 223 MW of alkaline electrolyzers, and its 243 MW of overseas orders were also leading; its 2000 Nm³/h electrolyzers went through two years of iteration and over 4,000 hours of rigorous testing, resulting in a 3% increase in current efficiency and a 3–5 times improvement in corrosion resistance; the 3 GW-level automated assembly line in Hefei gives it industrialized intelligent manufacturing capabilities, with cumulative signed contracts exceeding 1 GW and two consecutive years of leading nationwide market share. For project owners, collaborative premiums and delivery certainty are often more valuable than a lower price for a single unit.

Counterpoint: LONGi's 3.5 GW capacity and 'PV genes' as a cost killer.

The opposing side places its bets on 'cost and production capacity.' As a subsidiary of LONGi Green Energy (601012), LONGi Hydrogen Energy has transferred the large-scale manufacturing and supply chain management from the photovoltaic field to electrolyzers. By 2026, its production capacity will reach 3.5 GW, covering products from 1000 to 3000 Nm³/h, and it once won the II section of the Lishu project with a bid of 88.2 million yuan (16 units of 1000 and 1 unit of 2000). In January 2026, LONGi completed the delivery of its first set of 5 MW alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen production system for the European market, marking the transition of its European business from strategy to implementation. The core argument of the opposing side: when production capacity and price become the main battleground, the 'synergy premium' of single-point supply will be diluted by the 'cost discount' of large-scale manufacturing. Orders at the hundred-megawatt level should not be monopolized by a single company; full competition benefits both owners and industry cost reduction.

Neutral side: The route dispute — alkaline, PEM, and 'hybrid hydrogen production'.

Beyond the rivalry between manufacturers, the underlying issue is the debate over technological routes. Sunshine focuses mainly on alkaline technology, while also deploying PEM in parallel, and has won orders for Sinopec's PEM hydrogen production and Italy's off-grid PEM projects; LONGi focuses on large-scale alkaline systems. The industry is moving towards 'hybrid hydrogen production'—for example, the Lishu project uses a combination of alkaline and PEM technologies, and the Da’an project is the world's largest-scale hybrid water electrolysis for hydrogen using both alkaline and PEM systems. Companies like China Shipbuilding Parr, SANY, and Zhongzhong Electric are also accelerating their positioning. The focus of the debate has shifted from 'who is cheaper' to 'who can adapt to off-grid, volatile, and multi-climate scenarios,' with equipment providers competing not just on product specifications but on system adaptability. Analysis: The moat lies not in exclusive supply, but in 'system capability.'

My judgment: The hundred-megawatt-level standalone supply is a proof of capability at this stage, rather than a permanent moat. What truly creates a gap is the system capability of 'hardware plus intelligent digitalization' — Yangguang implemented a 2000 Nm³/h electrolyzer equipped with a self-developed intelligent digital management system in Daye, upgrading operation and maintenance from 'passive response' to 'active management'; overseas, it has successively won projects such as the 80 MW geothermal hydrogen production in Kenya, 160 MW in Oman (ACME), and projects in Spain, Brazil, etc. In the next two years, as green hydrogen projects move from 'hundred-megawatt' to 'gigawatt,' competition will shift from the price of individual units to a battle over full life-cycle hydrogen cost per unit of electricity (LCOH) and delivery reliability. Whoever first makes LCOH a calculable figure for customers will be the true 'number one.' Market overview: The 'gigawatt moment' for green hydrogen equipment is approaching.

Shifting the perspective from the two manufacturers back to the overall market, the ceiling of the sector is rising. In the first half of 2026, Sunshine Hydrogen topped the domestic alkaline electrolyzer orders with 223 MW, while Longi's annualized capacity of 3.5 GW means that a single supplier is approaching the gigawatt level; coupled with the capacity expansions of the second-tier companies like CSSC Paire, Sany, and Zhongjiantong, the total domestic alkaline electrolyzer capacity has already exceeded tens of gigawatts. On the demand side, just the disclosed projects by China Energy Construction Songyuan, State Power Investment Lishu, and Huadian Damaoqi alone correspond to electrolyzer demands of several hundred megawatts. When 'project demand' meets 'equipment capacity' at the same scale, price competition is inevitable, but it is precisely in such competition that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) can be truly reduced, and green hydrogen can move from demonstration electricity prices toward the parity threshold.

Returning to the initial debate: whether to have a sole supplier or not is essentially the owner's trade-off between 'collaborative efficiency' and 'supply security and price competition'; there is no standard answer. However, it can be confirmed that by 2026, the electrolyzer market will have shifted from 'who has the equipment' to 'who can deliver the system.' The winner will not be the one with the largest capacity, but the player who can package the electrolyzer, power supply, control, operation and maintenance, and digital intelligence into a quantifiable LCOH solution. This battle for 'the top player' is just beginning.