Sinopec: “Our goal is to become the No.1 hydrogen enterprise in China”

Leading Chinese energy company plans to build and operate 100 hydrogen refueling stations in 2021.

Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, doubled down the company’s intention of becoming a hydrogen giant for the Chinese market.

In an interview with various media on April 17 he shared his perspective on carbon neutrality, the development prospects of carbon neutrality and the overall strategic layout of hydrogen energy.

"It's our goal to become the No.1 hydrogen enterprise in China, to achieve a systematic layout of the entire hydrogen energy industry chain that will make hydrogen refueling as convenient as gas refueling," said Mr. Zhang. "In the future, Sinopec will gradually expand our hydrogen energy operations as well as other renewable energy sources to advance the development of a combined 'petroleum, gas, hydrogen, electric and non-petroleum service.'"

Sinopec's confidence in creating the leading hydrogen enterprise stems from the current scale of its hydrogen production, which is the largest in China, as well as its acceleration in building the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen energy that lays a solid foundation for all elements of hydrogen energy including transportation, storage, filling and application.

Sinopec has integrated the entire hydrogen energy industry to cover fields including capital operations, technology R&D, production, logistics, network building and social cooperation, and has achieved breakthroughs in constructing hydrogen refueling stations, hydrogen production technologies, hydrogen fuel batteries and hydrogen storage materials.

Currently, Sinopec has an annual hydrogen production capacity exceeding 3.5 million tons, which accounts for 14 percent of the national total. The company plans to build and operate 100 hydrogen refueling stations in 2021, and 1,000 in next five years, to lead the high-quality industrial development of hydrogen energy.