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The long-awaited "Medium and Long-Term Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035)" has finally been released, which will play an important guiding role in the high-quality development of my country's hydrogen energy industry. The plan scientifically analyzes the development status of my country's hydrogen energy industry, clarifies the strategic positioning, overall requirements and development goals of hydrogen energy in the green and low-carbon transformation of my country's energy, and proposes a hydrogen energy innovation system, infrastructure, multiple applications, policy guarantees, The specific plans for organization and implementation have drawn a grand blueprint for the medium and long-term development of my country's hydrogen energy industry. Combined with the spirit of the document, I would like to briefly talk about some preliminary experiences and suggestions.

1. Adhere to the green and low-carbon route, focus on hydrogen production from renewable energy, and keep in mind the original mission of developing hydrogen energy

General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed in September 2020 that "China will strive to achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060." Achieving this goal must promote the large-scale development of renewable energy. The main carriers of renewable energy are electricity and hydrogen, which are complementary in power and energy storage. As a carbon-free industrial raw material, hydrogen is irreplaceable. Then, the strategic position and economic rationality of hydrogen energy mainly depend on the large-scale long-term energy storage and diversified end-use needs in the renewable energy transition. If hydrogen production is based on fossil energy, there are problems of low energy utilization efficiency and high carbon dioxide emissions, which have been repeatedly questioned. Although hydrogen production from renewable energy also has energy conversion efficiency problems in the entire chain of production-storage-transportation-utilization, but with the continuous expansion of renewable energy installed capacity, the efficiency problem can be transformed into a cost problem. In the Zhangjiakou Renewable Energy Demonstration Zone approved by the State Council, our team tried to carry out the whole chain engineering verification from renewable energy hydrogen production to end application. When the price of renewable energy electricity is lower than 0.15 yuan/kWh, the The economy of hydrogen production from energy can be guaranteed. Therefore, hydrogen production from renewable energy is an inevitable choice to adhere to the path of green and low-carbon development.

The "Planning" proposes the development goal of "by 2025, the number of fuel cell vehicles will reach 50,000, and the amount of hydrogen produced from renewable energy will reach 100,000 to 200,000 tons." It is used in fuel cell vehicles; in terms of quality, the hydrogen production by electrolysis of water with renewable electricity is of high purity, which can meet the high requirements of fuel cells for hydrogen purity, and can completely avoid corrosion or poisoning of hydrogen refueling stations, hydrogen storage bottles and fuel cells. And other issues.

Hydrogen production from water electrolysis is divided into technical routes such as alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen production (AEC), proton exchange membrane electrolysis water hydrogen production (PEMEC), high temperature steam electrolysis hydrogen production (SOEC) and other technical routes. Some experts predict that the demand for water electrolysis hydrogen production In the future will be bigger than fuel cells. At present, my country's energy industry is actively investing in hydrogen production from renewable energy sources, such as hydrogen production from hydropower in Sichuan, hydrogen production from photovoltaics in Xinjiang, and hydrogen production from wind power in Inner Mongolia, which have laid a good industrial foundation for the large-scale production of clean and low-carbon hydrogen energy.

2. Adhere to innovation leadership, self-reliance and self-improvement, and achieve new breakthroughs in hydrogen energy technology

The hydrogen energy technology chain is long and has many difficulties. The existing technology and economy cannot fully meet the practical needs. It is urgent to make innovations and breakthroughs in major links such as hydrogen energy preparation, storage and transportation, filling, fuel cells, and hydrogen energy storage systems. neck stuck" technique. For example, the proton exchange membrane that seriously affects the life and cost of fuel cells; the high-strength carbon fiber and safety valve of the 70MPa high-pressure four-type bottle; the ion compressor of the hydrogen refueling station, the core components of the filling gun, etc. At the same time, basic research and applied basic research should also be carried out for the frontier of hydrogen energy technology. For example, water electrolysis hydrogen production catalyst and anion membrane, photoelectric catalytic hydrogen production, hydrogen liquefaction cycle based on superconducting strong magnetic field high-efficiency magnetic refrigeration, medium-pressure cryogenic gaseous hydrogen storage, new generation solid oxide fuel cell and SOFC capable of reversible operation /SOCE and other new generation hydrogen energy technologies. In the global hydrogen energy industry competition, we must seize the opportunity, strive to achieve a revolutionary breakthrough in hydrogen energy technology, promote the full maturity of hydrogen energy and fuel cell technology, and promote the large-scale market penetration of hydrogen energy in key application fields such as transportation and industry. Seize the international frontier positions.

Compared with electrochemical power cells, my country's hydrogen fuel cells are relatively weak in terms of technical reserves, industrial foundation, and talent team, and there is also a certain gap with the international advanced level. It is recommended to establish a hydrogen energy innovation platform as soon as possible, and carry out key core technology research and talents. Cultivate and build a self-reliance and self-improvement technology system. At the same time, the utilization of hydrogen energy is shared by all countries in the world. We must adhere to an attitude of openness and cooperation, continuously gather the innovation achievements of all parties, and promote the formation of a good international hydrogen energy application ecology.

3. Adhere to safety-oriented, demonstration first, and explore scientific and reasonable industrial ecology

Similar to battery safety for electric vehicles and electrochemical energy storage industries, the role of hydrogen safety in the development of the hydrogen energy industry is self-evident, and efforts must be made to be foolproof. It is necessary to establish a data monitoring platform for the entire hydrogen energy industry chain, establish a safety evaluation and testing system, especially pay attention to the safety training of front-line staff, and conduct daily operations in strict accordance with safety regulations. For example, Zhangjiakou City specially established the Zhangjiakou Hydrogen Energy Research Institute, established a safety monitoring platform and database for the entire hydrogen energy industry chain, and cooperated with the China Special Inspection Institute to build a hydrogen energy equipment testing center, focusing on maintaining the safe operation of the hydrogen energy fuel cell public transportation system in Zhangjiakou City. ; The 2022 Winter Olympics has been successfully held, in order to ensure the safety of the operation of more than 1,000 fuel cell vehicles and more than 20 hydrogen refueling stations in the Beijing and Zhangjiakou competition areas, an international expert advisory committee for the Winter Olympics Demonstration Hydrogen Safety has been set up to gather global hydrogen Experience in safety management to ensure the safety of green travel in the Winter Olympics.

It is worth noting that fuel cell vehicles are only a breakthrough in the application of hydrogen energy. Long-term development should gradually expand to multiple applications in transportation, electric power, chemical industry, metallurgy and other fields, and give full play to the importance of hydrogen energy in the green and low-carbon transformation of energy and the green development of the industry. support.

4. Adhere to market leadership, government guidance, and follow the development law of emerging industries

The application areas of pure electric vehicles in my country are mainly concentrated in the eastern, central and southern parts, while the northern, northeastern and northwestern parts are less distributed, because the low temperature in these areas in winter affects the output of power batteries. In contrast, fuel cells are less affected by temperature, and the residual heat of the battery can be flexibly converted and utilized, and these regions are rich in renewable energy resources, and the clean and low-carbon hydrogen energy produced from renewable energy has a strong supply capacity. Fuel cell vehicles have Larger market application potential.

Compared with the development of pure electric vehicles in my country from inception to high-quality development, my country's fuel cell vehicle industry lags behind the development of pure electric vehicle industry by about 10 years. According to the product test data of major fuel cell manufacturers at home and abroad, it is expected that the cost of fuel cells will drop significantly and the performance will improve steadily in the next ten years.

We have noticed that the technical complexity of the entire hydrogen energy industry chain and the fierce competition between China and foreign countries cannot be underestimated. The entire industry must work together to overcome difficulties. During this period, government support and guidance is very important, especially in the aspects of overall industrial layout, application scenario expansion and innovation, etc., it is necessary to adapt to local conditions and do what we can, and avoid quick success and blind investment.