Sinopec PEM electrolysis of water to hydrogen has been industrialized

On December 10, Sinopec's first self-developed megawatt-level proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis water hydrogen production unit was successfully started up in Yanshan Petrochemical, and the whole process was completed on the same day, producing qualified high-purity hydrogen
.
The project has an annual output of 180 tons of hydrogen, which can achieve zero carbon and zero pollutant emission
in the whole production process.
This is the first industrial application
of Sinopec's PEM electrolysis water hydrogen production technology.

The project is jointly developed and constructed by Sinopec Petrochemical Research Institute and Yanshan Petrochemical, using "green electricity" to produce "green hydrogen"
.
The R&D team adopted the design concept of integrated design and integrated skid, and developed and built a single-slot megawatt-level PEM electrolysis water hydrogen production unit
.
The overall layout and pipeline optimization design are carried out around the electrolyzer, including the electrolyzer, the electrolyzer power supply system, the water and gas separation system that maintains the operation of the electrolyzer, and the purification system that meets the hydrogen quality requirements, and the equipment covers an area of less than 40 square meters
.

R & D personnel told reporters that compared with the hydrogen production device composed of multiple electrolyzers, the technology of single electrolyzer is difficult and the requirements for materials and manufacturing processes are higher, but its small size, high power density and low cost are the main directions
of future development.
Focusing on the core equipment of PEM electrolysis water hydrogen production device - electrolyzer, the R&D team independently developed cathode, anode catalyst and large-size uniform membrane electrode
.
The maximum hydrogen production of a single tank can reach 250 standard cubic meters / hour, the power adjustment range is large, and the purity of hydrogen can reach 99.
999%.

It is understood that the hydrogen produced by the project is mainly sold to Beijing, Hebei, Shandong and other places
.
The project development said that it will accelerate the iteration of catalyst and membrane electrode technology, integrate the relevant industrial chain, further reduce the cost of the device, and improve the market competitiveness
of PEM electrolysis water hydrogen production technology.

PEM electrolysis water hydrogen production technology is the best "green hydrogen" production technology coupled with renewable energy, which has the advantages of high hydrogen production efficiency, wide load range and no pollution, and can adapt to the fluctuation of renewable energy power generation and meet the requirements
of off-grid power generation.
At the same time, the technology adopts "zero gap" design, small size, fast start-stop speed and flexible operation, which is an ideal hydrogen production technology
in hydrogen refueling stations.

On November 4, 2021, Sinopec's first 30 standard cubic meters per hour PEM electrolysis water hydrogen production demonstration station jointly developed and constructed by Yanshan Petrochemical and the Institute of Stone Sciences was successfully put into use, which opened up the whole process of PEM hydrogen production equipment from key materials, core components to system integration, and verified the reliability of catalyst, membrane electrode and electrolyzer assembly and sealing technology through the complete PEM electrolysis water process operation, laying the foundation
for the development of megawatt-level PEM water electrolysis hydrogen production unit 。 It is reported that Yanshan Petrochemical is currently the largest hydrogen production and supply enterprise in Beijing, and has been listed in the list of key hydrogen production enterprises in Beijing hydrogen fuel cell city demonstration group, with a daily hydrogen supply capacity of 4.
5 tons
.