China realizes mass production of liquid organic hydrogen carriers

BEIJING, Apr. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's first mass production of liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), a major scientific and technological innovation achievement conducive to the storage and transport of hydrogen, was realized in Yidu, a county-level city in central China's Hubei Province on March 28.

The LOHC project, undertaken by Hynertech Co., Ltd., a high-tech company in Hubei, aims at storing hydrogen in organic solvents through catalysis. Such technology is the first of its kind in China that solves the storage and transport problems of hydrogen at normal temperature and pressure.

It is reported that a total of 3 billion yuan is planned to be bumped into this project, which can produce as much as 1 million metric tons (tonnes) of LOHCs annually after completion.

Currently, the first phase of this project has an annual output of 1,000 tonnes of LOHCs.

According to an official from the Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the operation of the project marks the initial formation of the hydrogen ecological industrial chain in Hubei, involving the preparation, storage, transport and filing of hydrogen as well as the R&D of hydrogen fuel cell and vehicle. (Edited by Gu Shanshan)