Hydrogen production from electrolyzed water has broad prospects
At present, there are three mainstream technical routes for the production of hydrogen: fossil energy reforming hydrogen production (gray hydrogen) represented by coal, oil and natural gas, industrial by-product purification and hydrogen production (blue hydrogen) represented by coke oven gas, chlor-alkali tail gas and propane dehydrogenation, and renewable energy hydrogen production (green hydrogen) represented by electrolysis of water to hydrogen.
There are three main hydrogen production technologies from electrolyzed water: alkaline water electrolysis (AE), proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEM) and solid oxide water electrolysis (SOE), but SOE electrolyzed water technology is still in the laboratory research and development stage.
In terms of alkaline electrolyzed water technology and equipment manufacturing, China's technical level is similar to that of foreign countries, and has completely independent intellectual property rights in equipment manufacturing and process integration capabilities. In terms of PEM hydrogen production technology, China is still in the early stage of research and development towards industrialization.
"At present, China's electrolyzed water hydrogen production capacity is less than 2% of hydrogen production capacity, and there is a lot of room for improvement in the future." An analyst in the new industry of a securities company told the 21st Century Economic Herald reporter that because the hydrogen produced by electrolyzed water has a high purity grade, less impurity gas, and easy to combine with renewable energy, it is considered to be the most promising green hydrogen energy supply method in the future. "According to relevant forecasts, by 2030, the proportion of hydrogen produced by electrolyzed water will increase to 10%."
According to the "White Paper on China's Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Industry (2020)", China's hydrogen demand will reach 37.15 million tons in 2030 and 96.9 million tons in 2050. Some analysts believe that hydrogen production from electrolyzed water will gradually become the main body of China's hydrogen energy supply, and the proportion of hydrogen energy supply structure will reach 45% and 70% in 2040 and 2050 respectively.