“底盘”之变——吉林三城产业转型记The Change of 'Chassis'—The Industrial Transformation Story of Three Cities in Jilin

In recent times, there are three events in Jilin Province worth looking at together: the shipment of green ammonia from Songyuan, the collaborative testing of the hydrogen-ammonia-methanol project in Liaoyuan, and the 'ten-minute' transfer of power batteries in Changchun. Three cities, three threads, all pointing to the same core change — the 'foundation' of traditional industries is being replaced.

In late September, 5,000 tons of green ammonia were shipped from the dock in Songyuan. The buyer was a Belgian shipping company, and the cargo's destination was Nanjing Port, with transit through Zhoushan, ultimately being loaded into the fuel tanks of ocean-going vessels. This was the world's first sale of green ammonia for ocean shipping fuel, with the contract signed not long ago. Songyuan is not a coastal city, and neither is Jilin, but the green fuel produced there is fueling ocean-going ships.

The business is supported by the first phase of the Zhongnengjian Songyuan Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park. The project has already been put into production, with a daily green ammonia capacity steadily above 500 tons. The key core equipment is 100% domestically produced and has obtained ISCC EU green certification. The project adopts a technological route of 'direct supply from wind and solar, energy storage peak regulation, high-efficiency electrolytic hydrogen production, and dynamic integrated ammonia synthesis,' relying on 'load-following-source movement' to adapt fluctuating green electricity to stable chemical loads, solving the contradiction between the volatility of wind and solar power generation and the stability of chemical production. This solution sounds like a laboratory concept, but Songyuan has already turned it into real shipping orders.

Looking at Changchun again. A power battery rolls off the production line at FAW Fudi and is transported by an AGV cart to the FAW Hongqi Prosperity Plant less than 5 kilometers away, taking about ten minutes in total. Power battery transportation has special requirements; for every kilometer the distance is shortened, packaging, storage, and scheduling costs decrease. The person in charge of FAW Fudi put it bluntly: close means saving. As the first renewable energy power battery base in Northeast China, FAW Fudi has gradually attracted core suppliers to the surrounding automotive development zone. Today, a 2-kilometer 'coaxial industrial ecosystem' has formed here, with six major vehicle manufacturers driving the collaborative development of over 400 parts companies.

Liaoyuan is turning its attention to the energy structure itself. The Liaoyuan Tianying integrated wind-solar hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol project has fully entered the overall joint commissioning phase. The first hydrogen production system has completed commissioning and started producing hydrogen, with the first batch of green methanol production imminent. The project leverages local wind and solar resources, shifting from traditional resource extraction to green electricity-based hydrogen production, and the production of green ammonia and green methanol. It also utilizes abandoned mining pits to layout the full industrial chain, simultaneously conducting ecological restoration and cultivating a hundred-billion-level green industry, promoting Liaoyuan's transformation from a traditional coal base into a base for green hydrogen and green liquid fuel supply.

From the provincial perspective, Jilin Province ranks among the top in the country in green hydrogen, green ammonia, and methanol production capacity, with an annual green hydrogen production capacity of 90,000 tons and a combined annual production capacity of green ammonia and green methanol of 430,000 tons. In August this year, the cities of Changchun, Siping, Songyuan, and Baicheng were included in the core section of the national hydrogen energy comprehensive application pilot city cluster, aiming to make Jilin an important domestic green liquid fuel supply base by 2030.

The three lines are placed together, with the underlying logic being consistent: changing the 'base.' The automotive base in Changchun shifts from fuel-driven to electric-driven, moving from single-factory manufacturing to chain-based aggregation; the energy base in Liaoyuan changes from coal mining and oil burning to wind and solar-powered hydrogen production, shifting from selling resources to selling green fuel; and Songyuan's green fuel industry is an extension of this energy base reshaping approach. The project progress varies, and the scale ranges from large to small, but all point to the same thing — a new industrial structure emerging on top of the traditional industrial base.

[Source: Jilin Daily]

[Editor: Xiao Neng]