Official WeChat Account of the Shanxi Provincial People’s Government Highlights: The “Low-Carbon” Transformation of China’s Coal Capital—A Visit to Xiaoyi to See Pengfei

Release Date:

2024-07-19

On July 19, the official WeChat account of the Shanxi Provincial People’s Government published an article titled “Central Media Focuses on Shanxi: The ‘Low-Carbon’ Transformation of China’s Coal Capital,” re-sharing a special report by Xinhua News Agency on Shanxi’s hydrogen energy development. The original text reads as follows:

Hydrogen Energy “On the Road”

△ On May 21, hydrogen-powered bicycles were just put into service in Xiaoyi City, Shanxi Province. Xinhua News Agency photo.

“My life has become inseparable from hydrogen energy,” said Zhang Aisheng, a resident of Xiaoyi City, Shanxi Province.

In the morning, Zhang Aisheng rides his hydrogen-powered bicycle to work and then boards a hydrogen‑fuel‑cell bus to shuttle employees to and from their workplaces. After work in the afternoon, he hops back on his hydrogen bike to head home.

Xiaoyi is an important coal-producing region in China. Leveraging its coal resources, this small city with a population of fewer than 500,000 has repeatedly been ranked among the top 100 counties nationwide in overall strength. However, coal reserves are finite, and one day they will be exhausted. In 2009, Xiaoyi was designated a “resource-depleted city.”

Against the backdrop of China’s continued advancement of its “dual carbon” goals, Xiaoyi City regards the hydrogen energy industry as a new driver of economic growth. Locally, the transition to hydrogen energy applications is already well underway.

At the end of April, 500 hydrogen-powered shared bicycles were put into service in Xiaoyi. This batch of bicycles, leveraging low‑carbon solid‑state hydrogen storage technology, can achieve a range of 60 kilometers with just 50 to 60 grams of stored hydrogen. A series of hydrogen‑powered products, including hydrogen‑fuel‑cell minibuses and cargo vehicles, are being ramped up for mass production. Meanwhile, five hydrogen‑fuel‑cell city‑bus units dedicated to intercity transport have already entered service, with fares as low as 3 yuan for routes spanning approximately 30 kilometers.

For Zheng Peng, president of Pengfei Group, a company developing hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks, the transformation of a coal‑transport fleet has served as a testament to Xiaoyi’s shift toward a low‑carbon future.

In 2017, in an effort to reduce its environmental impact, Tianjin Port—one of the most important ports in northern China—announced it would no longer accept coal shipments by road. Seven years later, coal‑transporting truck convoys have once again approached the port’s gates—this time, however, these heavy‑duty trucks are powered by zero‑emission hydrogen fuel cells.

In May, three hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks, each with a payload capacity of nearly 40 tons, departed from Xiaoyi City. , traveling over 700 kilometers and refueling once en route, Deliver the coal loaded on the truck to Tianjin Port. Then load it up with goods and ship it back to Shanxi.

This is a milestone beginning.

Zheng Peng said at the launch ceremony.

△ On May 21, a hydrogen-fueling integrated energy island was completed in Xiaoyi City, Shanxi Province. Xinhua News Agency photo.

This hydrogen‑powered “zero‑carbon” transport demonstration corridor represents an important initiative by Xiaoyi City to chart a path toward transformative development. Previously, the city had already rolled out 200 hydrogen‑fuel‑cell heavy‑duty trucks to key industrial enterprises across sectors including coal, coke, aluminum, and electricity, with these vehicles averaging over 100,000 kilometers of operation. According to reports, Each hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck can reduce carbon emissions by 12 tons per 10,000 kilometers traveled. 。

Currently, the total local investment is 78 billion The Yuan hydrogen energy project is being accelerated; upon completion, it will generate an annual output value of… 180 billion Principal, interest, and taxes 27.5 billion Yuan, arrange employment 35,000 Person.

Guo Qingzhi, Mayor of Xiaoyi City, believes that the hydrogen energy industry, as a quintessential example of new‑type productive forces in the energy sector, is gaining strong momentum and holds promising prospects.

In China, most hydrogen is produced from coal—coal coking generates substantial amounts of hydrogen. As a major coal-producing province, Shanxi enjoys a natural advantage in hydrogen production costs.

An official from the Shanxi Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology stated that, in Xiaoyi, the cost of producing hydrogen from coke oven gas stands at 12 yuan per kilogram—significantly lower than the cost of hydrogen produced via water electrolysis.

In 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the “Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021–2035),” which stated that “the hydrogen energy industry is a strategic emerging industry and a key area for future industrial development.” Shanxi Province has designated hydrogen energy as one of its ten priority industrial chains, while Lüliang City has identified Xiaoyi’s hydrogen energy sector as one of the first seven city-level specialized towns to be cultivated.

Guo Qingzhi stated that Xiaoyi City is firmly committed to making the hydrogen energy industry a key priority for accelerating the development of new‑type productive forces, and will mobilize the entire city’s resources and pool wisdom from all sectors to drive the high‑quality growth of the hydrogen energy industry.