双城周刊｜戈壁绿氢越千山——新疆氢能南下激活成渝新质生产力Twin Cities Weekly | Gobi Green Hydrogen Travels Over a Thousand Mountains — Xinjiang Hydrogen Energy Heading South Activates New Quality Productivity in Chengdu-Chongqing

In late November, the autumn winds swept across the Gobi Desert and the photovoltaic base in Hami, Xinjiang. Vast arrays of solar panels gleamed under the sunlight as a continuous stream of green electricity was converted into pure hydrogen energy. Thousands of miles away, at a hydrogen refueling station in the Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing, a hydrogen fuel cell logistics vehicle slowly drove in, and staff skillfully completed the hydrogen refueling.

Spanning mountains and rivers, Xinjiang's abundant green hydrogen resources are being channeled along the "Xinjiang-Chengyu" hydrogen energy cooperation corridor, connecting massive applications in the advanced manufacturing and transportation sectors of the Chengyu region. At the end of October this year, the "Xinjiang–Chengyu Region Twin-City Economic Circle" hydrogen energy comprehensive application pilot city group work deployment meeting was held in Chongqing, marking the national-level cross-regional hydrogen energy pilot entering the implementation stage.

The large-scale development of China's hydrogen industry has long faced prominent contradictions: in the northern regions rich in wind and solar energy, green hydrogen can be produced at low cost, but local large-scale consumption scenarios are limited; in southern manufacturing urban clusters, industrial decarbonization and heavy truck logistics urgently require clean hydrogen sources, yet they are constrained by land, wind, and solar energy endowments, resulting in high local hydrogen production costs. Against this background, the "Xinjiang-Chengdu-Chongqing" pilot hydrogen city cluster covering 13 cities across 5 provincial-level administrative regions has emerged, promoting the model of 'northern production and southern use, mutual support between north and south.'

The pilot city cluster is led by three main responsible cities—Chongqing, Chengdu, and Hami—while ten participating cities including Jiuquan and Shihezi cooperate and support each other, advancing the division of labor in hydrogen production, storage and transportation, equipment manufacturing, industrial consumption, and transportation demonstration. Chongqing contributes complete vehicle manufacturing, equipment research and development, and system integration capabilities; Xinjiang supplies low-cost green hydrogen resources, jointly creating large-scale hydrogen usage demonstration scenarios; Chengdu specializes in electrolyzers and hydrogen production equipment research and development, while Chongqing's strengths lie in fuel cell vehicle manufacturing, storage and transportation equipment manufacturing, and industrial application scenarios.

By 2030, the annual production of green hydrogen in this city cluster is planned to exceed 500,000 tons, with industrial by-product hydrogen capacity stabilizing at 400,000 tons; a green hydrogen coupled circulation demonstration zone will be established, 24 industrial hydrogen projects will be implemented, and 496,000 tons of clean hydrogen will be consumed annually; the 'Thousand-Mile Hydrogen Corridor' will reach a total length of 3,200 kilometers, the number of fuel cell vehicles will exceed 3,900, and the number of hydrogen refueling stations will increase to 71.

This pilot aims to explore the establishment of cross-regional green hydrogen traceability and carbon footprint identification rules, opening a market channel for the commercialization of green hydrogen emission reductions, and providing a reference model for the coordinated development of hydrogen energy in other domestic 'resource-based manufacturing' city clusters.

[Source: Chongqing Daily]

[Editor: Xiao Neng]