Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Action Plan for Low-Carbon Transformation and Construction of Coal and Electricity (2024-2027)". This policy document opens up new application scenarios for green hydrogen and green ammonia, especially for hydrogen-electricity coupling. situation.

In terms of carbon capture, utilization and storage paths, it is proposed to promote the application of geological utilization technologies such as efficient carbon dioxide flooding and chemical utilization technologies such as carbon dioxide hydrogenation to methanol. Implement geological storage of carbon dioxide according to local conditions. It also puts forward specific requirements for the project layout and unit conditions:

Project layout: To implement the green ammonia blended burning project, the location should have reliable sources of green ammonia and rich renewable energy resources to meet the needs of green ammonia preparation. To implement carbon capture, utilization and storage projects, the location and surrounding areas should have carbon dioxide resource utilization scenarios or long-term stable geological storage conditions.

Unit conditions: Coal-fired power units undergoing low-carbon transformation should meet basic conditions such as long expected remaining service life and good comprehensive economy. Newly built coal-fired power units must be construction projects that have been included in the national plan. Priority should be given to supporting transformation and construction projects that use multiple coal-fired and low-carbon power generation technology routes coupled. Encourage the "two joint ventures" of coal and coal-power joint ventures, coal-power and renewable energy joint ventures, and supporting coal-power projects of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic bases in desert, Gobi, and desert areas to take the lead in implementing green-ammonia blended burning demonstrations. Coal and electricity low-carbon transformation and construction projects should strictly implement the environmental management system to ensure that all types of pollutants meet the emission standards. In principle, the ammonia storage facilities of the green ammonia blended burning project should be built outside the coal-fired power unit factory area, and the project implementation unit should further clarify and strictly implement the specific management requirements.

The document also proposes to strengthen technical research on the blending of coal and electricity with biomass, low-cost green ammonia preparation, and high-proportion blending of crop straw, and accelerate the capture and consumption reduction of carbon dioxide in coal-electricity flue gas, absorbent loss, and mass transfer performance of large tower internals. Technology research and development such as improvement, capture-power generation system coordination, and control process optimization will make up for technical shortcomings such as carbon dioxide resource utilization, saltwater layer storage, and industrial integration coupling.

The document policy goals show that by 2025, the first batch of coal-fired low-carbon transformation and construction projects will be started, and the carbon emissions of related projects will be reduced by about 20% compared with the average carbon emission level of similar coal-fired units in 2023. By 2027, the carbon emissions of related projects will be reduced by about 50% compared with the average carbon emission level of similar coal-fired power units in 2023, and will be close to the carbon emission level of natural gas power units.

The "zero-carbon energy" attribute of hydrogen energy itself is currently being explored more in the transportation field. The scope of assistance in energy structure transformation has not been broadened. Currently, only a few demonstration projects are applied to hydrogen-electricity coupling. The application of green hydrogen to synthesis of green ammonia in coal-fired power transformation and new construction projects will have a huge impact on the "greening" of the energy structure. Source: Hydrogen Energy Exchange