October 22, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) implemented the world’s longest liquid hydrogen marine transportation demonstration project, traveling more than 10,000 nautical miles, successfully arrived in Shenzhen Yantian Port. The successful completion of the project marks China’s entry into the new track of “early and pilot implementation” of the global hydrogen long-distance trans-oceanic transportation and utilization industry.
Safe and efficient transportation technology for hydrogen energy is the key factor determining whether the hydrogen energy industry can develop in a long term. Existing methods of transportation are based on gas hydrogen, liquid hydrogen, and organic storage and transportation of hydrogen, of which liquid hydrogen, with its advantages of high energy density and high transportation efficiency, has become the preferred form for solving the problem of large-scale and long-distance hydrogen energy transportation and utilization in the future.
This demonstration project is an industrial technology and resource cooperation between CNOOC and French industrial gases giant Air Liquide. Liquid hydrogen is loaded in cold-preserving tank containers and transported through European ocean-going freighters, which were loaded from the European port of Rotterdam on September 4 at local time, and arrived at Shenzhen Yantian port via the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope and then to the Strait of Malacca, completing the first long-distance trans-oceanic transportation of liquid hydrogen in a tonnage class or above.
Relevant personnel from CNOOC introduced that in order to ensure the smooth transportation of liquid hydrogen for the first time, CNOOC has systematically carried out research on transportation process technology, equipment technology, safety technology, and international policies, laws and regulations for the long-distance transoceanic transportation industry chain of liquid hydrogen. The company has overcome a series of technical difficulties, breaking through the safety and technical bottlenecks in each link and ensuring the smooth progress of the “maiden voyage”.
This demonstration project creatively achieved the first ship loading and unloading of liquid hydrogen. CNOOC was the first in China and abroad to realize the full industrial chain connection of international transoceanic transportation of liquid hydrogen, systematically mastered the industrial technology system for international transportation and utilization of liquid hydrogen, and explored new practical paths for the development of China’s hydrogen energy industry.
As the global hydrogen market develops, the differences in the cost of clean hydrogen production between countries are gradually widening, and trade opportunities are emerging between countries with excess capacity for low-cost hydrogen production and countries that need to import it.
At present, major economies such as the European Union, the United States, and Japan are actively engaged in international trade in hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels, connecting global hydrogen supply and demand through trade. According to the international renewable energy agency, by 2050, more than 30% of hydrogen production will be used for international trade.
As the largest hydrogen producer, China can produce 40 million tons of hydrogen annually. The successful implementation of the world’s longest liquid hydrogen sea transportation demonstration project has provided new impetus for China to build innovation chains, industrial chains, and explore hydrogen energy trade.